Bring Her Home
by mudstalker
Summary: When Annie goes missing on assignment, a "vacationing" Auggie stops at nothing in order to bring Annie home safely. Rated T to be safe. Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **Hello! 1st Covert Affairs fanfic (also the first I've ever done in chapters). I'll attempt to upload at least one chapter of similar length a week or so, but with school, who knows what may happen. At least I know where this story is going! Hope you all enjoy it, and please review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Covert Affairs or any of its characters. I'm just a broke college student having fun.

_Bring Her Home_

Auggie hated vacations. To him, they were pointless, endless lengths of time that were only filled with a vague sense of relaxation and an overwhelming need to be back at work. Any time he was gone for a length of time (either short or long), the tech center was reorganized into a cluttered mass of rearranged chairs and empty potato chip bags. Why did geeks have to be so messy? Time away was inconvenient, annoying, and, in the great wisdom of the bureaucracy, deemed necessary.

Over time, Auggie had built up over a month of vacation time. Joan had let him slide for a couple years, but when Auggie began to add a fifth week to the built-up month, Joan finally put her foot down.

"You ARE taking a week off!" she commanded.

Auggie scowled, her voice like a bar of cold steel in his head. "Chief," he began, trying to sound diplomatic, "Annie's only been in a couple of months now. Well, about four, but she still is very new. I promised her I'd teach her the ropes, and I don't make promises lightly."

Joan sighed. "Auggie, Annie has to learn to operate without you behind the wheel every time. A good operative works well with anyone at anytime; they do what they need to do in order to get themselves and their partners home. It's what we do. Now, Annie is headed down to Brazil for a couple of days. I am sending her with one of our international operatives, and Bert will be her handler. You WILL take at least a week off. Is that clear?"

Auggie sighed, sensing that he would not be able to have any wiggle room. "One week," he agreed, and felt the tension in the room ease.

Joan spoke again, her voice much lighter now (as if she were smiling). "Good, I am glad you can still listen to reason. Well, enjoy your time off; I have to get back to work. We have the efficiency division evaluating us these next few weeks, looking for the information leak."

Auggie nodded, still feeling like there was something he was missing. Joan seemed relieved- as though she had gotten off the hook from something. "Hey, where's Annie anyway?" Auggie asked. "I want to wish her a safe journey."

Joan answered as she sped past Auggie to the door. "She's already on her way; she and her contact, left at dawn."

Auggie felt frustration mix with foreboding in the pit of his stomach. He hated not knowing every detail about the members of his team, and he felt worried for his best friend in particular. Joan opened the door, but Auggie didn't let her off that easy.

"At least tell me where they are going!" Auggie demanded.

Joan gave another impatient sigh and began to walk away. "You are on vacation Auggie, go home!"

Auggie, fuming from being treated like a bad dog, left in a huff. His tech lab had already obviously been taken over, and there was nowhere else to go but home.

Actually, a week at home was not that bad of a punishment, Auggie decided. Due to his time in the military (and due to his blindness), Auggie was obsessively organized, and the extra time gave him a chance to super clean his apartment. He kept himself busy with organizing, stacking, and cleansing, and when all the items were finally put away, he relaxed by listening to books on tape. Still, the days were seeming awfully long. Auggie wished he could be in his tech lab; he felt really blind here. He had no idea where Annie was, and Auggie realized that he was missing Annie much more than he would have liked to admit. When Annie first came from the farm, the tech heads had laughed at the novice spy. Her training had been short, and she knew little to nothing of protecting herself. Mostly, the tech guys just commented endlessly on her good looks.

But Auggie knew there was much more to Annie than met the eye; there was strength in her, a strength of the heart that was much more valuable than spy smarts. She could take care of herself well out in the field; Auggie had witnessed her survival skills on more than one occasion. Annie was willing to learn and learned quickly. She had creativity and initiative, which made her perfect for her job. And Annie was not only kind, but she was intelligent, with a grace in her speech and actions that would make her not only a superb agent, but made her a decent human being as well.

All this seemed to hit Auggie at once while he was eating one evening, and he realized with some surprise, that he cared more for Annie than he liked to admit. Certainly they were friends; perhaps even best friends. But there was something new to Auggie, something he had only felt before for one person once long ago... love. Could it possibly be? Auggie shrugged the thought away; he knew how dangerous relationships between coworkers would be. And yet, though the thought was not present in his mind all the time, his heart still ached for Annie more than he cared to acknowledge.

One night, about halfway through his week, Auggie had a strange and terrifying dream. He rarely dreamed at all, and usually, if he did dream, it was only a jumble of disembodied sounds. But very rarely, Auggie would have a full color dream; for as he had had his sight before, his subconscious had kept an understanding of colors. Auggie dreamt that he was standing in a room. The first thing he noticed in the dream was that it was hot and smelled like rotting leaves, like the interior of a greenhouse. The floor under him was cool tile, and the walls were made of adobe. The second thing that Auggie noticed was that he was not alone; Annie was there, smelling of grapefruit. In his dream, he turned slowly to face her, and found himself staring at a beautiful, petite blonde-haired woman, dressed in a white sundress. Annie walked up to him smiling, and Auggie felt his heart leap for joy and melt at the same time. He fought the irresistible urge to run up to her and take her into his arms, but as she stepped closer, he couldn't help himself. Auggie ran up to her and kissed her good and proper. The moment seemed to last for forever, but then Annie's eyes and his were locked and they were looking happily into each other's gaze. Then, fear flickered across Annie's face.

"Help me," she whispered, barely audible, even for Auggie. Then again, "HELP ME!"

Auggie, surprised out of his embrace, let go of Annie. Then, he watched in horror as she started bleeding from a wound in her stomach somewhere. He ran forward to her, catching her as she collapsed and easing her to the floor. He grabbed his jacket and pressed it onto the wound, praying that she'd stop bleeding, but it was too late. Annie's eyes went glassy, and her bleeding trickled to a halt as her heart stopped. Auggie sat there, feeling the most pain he had ever felt in his heart before. Then, he happened to look down at his hands. They were covered in crimson.

The dream was so vivid that Auggie woke up gasping and shaking. It took him several minutes to get his heart rate back to normal, and when he finally did, he was determined to figure out where Annie went- no matter what the cost. Auggie knew logically that the dream was just a nightmare, but deep down inside, Auggie felt that it was a warning of some kind. Annie was in trouble, and Auggie would do whatever he had to to bring her home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Hi all! Thanks so much for all the faving and the reviews; my e-mail was overjoyed to see mail! This chapter came much quicker than I expected; perhaps the story might not take too long after all. But I make no promises. This chapter is mostly background, but I promise things will get much more interesting very quickly.

**Disclaimer: **The broke college student continues to have fun and doesn't own any rights to this TV show or the characters.

The next day, as soon as it was a "decent" hour for anyone on vacation, Auggie jumped on the bus headed for Langley. He had wanted to go in and check on Annie's progress as soon as he was awakened by the terrifying dream, but Auggie's mistrust of the government and of bureaucracy made him cautious; if something was really wrong, he would not be told until it was too late. Therefore, the best way to get information was to act as though everything was normal.

Auggie's "cover story" was that he left something in his desk; a piece of technology he wanted to work with. Everyone would believe that, and he could get close enough to Bert to perhaps squeeze out some information about Annie. He was coming onto the base at around nine thirty; which was still early for some people but fairly late for him. Trying to look nonchalant, Auggie exited the bus and walked in through the front gate. The guards barely noticed him; Auggie had been around for so long in CIA terms it was as if he were a part of the landscape. Auggie grinned to himself as his imagination ran away from him. "I've made it past the guards," he thought with a grin. "Now, my mission is to make it to my desk."

As Auggie entered Langley, however, he realized that it may be more of a mission than he had originally thought. Strange footfalls pounded through the corridors. Panicked voices of novice agents and their handlers answering to the droning voices of efficiency experts pelted the air like bullets shattering peace. Everything was very loud, disorderly, and not at all in a "working" order.

"No wonder Joan wanted me to take a vacation this week," thought Auggie as he stood in the entryway. Stunned by the strange voices and various new sounds washing over him like a tidal wave, Auggie used his actual cane (not his laser one) to navigate to his office. As expected, everything was re-arranged. But this time Auggie patiently bit his lip; if he wanted information, he would have to sweet-talk it out of Bert.

"Hello, Bert!" Auggie hailed when he was sure he was fully in his office. "Any calls?"

"Auggie!" Bert replied with a smile in his voice. "Long time no see... er, well..."

Auggie relaxed, realizing that pumping Bert for information would be a piece of cake. "I just came in to get my new tech-recorder; it's supposed to record even the most hypersensitive of sounds."

"Is that so?" Bert asked in awe. "Well, that's neat. It's a good thing Joan's not here to see you in, though, or she'd have my head. She made me promise not to let you in here."

Something in Bert's tone made Auggie suspicious. "Where is Joan?" asked Auggie.

Bert chuckled. "Gone for a couple of days giving efficiency reports to the brass in the Pentagon. As if she didn't have enough to do already. This place is swarming with efficiency experts; I'll be glad when they are gone. It's like they're not human. Anyway, at least we've slowed down a lot. We've only got one op going right now..."

"Annie's op, right?" asked Auggie.

"Yeah," Bert replied. "She's so lucky; while all the other agents are getting grilled, she's off in Brazil with Marco Sanchez."

Auggie's interest was peaked. "The Marco Sanchez?"

"Of course," Bert replied. "One of the best international agents ever, plus one of the longest-living South American agents. He's nearing retirement, you know."

"I hope Annie's cover is not his trophy wife," Auggie scowled.

"No, she's his niece and ward. We like to say, 'like a daughter' to him. Well, anyway, he's been awfully tolerant of her; their mission has had some snags but it's gone off without any serious problems."

Auggie frowned, his heart starting to beat fast again. "What were the glitches?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, they were supposed to be back already. They were tracking an arms dealer by pretending to be in the business themselves, but needed more time than was originally scheduled. Then, Annie's mike died."

"Annie's off-line?" Auggie fretted.

"Don't worry," Bert reassured. "She keeps checking in with Sanchez's mike; she's supposed to check in about five minutes if you want to hear her voice. We've got limited contact, though; Sanchez told us the dealing is going slow. The arms dealer is pretty suspicious, I guess."

"Does this arms dealer have a name?"

"Valmor. They say he owns a huge ranch outside of Rio Branco in Acre. A huge ranch, with the cover of the Amazon rainforest? No wonder he's been able to smuggle so many guns out of the Brazilian army."

"And we call this the secret service," said an unwelcome and annoyingly familiar voice. Jai Wilcox walked into the office, sounding amused in the way a panther would over a scared piece of prey. At least, that was the vibe Auggie got from how he was walking towards Bert.

"Sorry, sir," Bert was apologizing. "Auggie has been here for so long... he already knows everything, anyway. Why not just chat about it?"

Auggie could practically feel Jai's eyes scouring him. Though the last person Auggie wanted to meet up with today was the devil's little helper, he had no choice but to at least act civilized.

Jai was now lecturing the unfortunate tech. "What if, let's just say what if Auggie is the CIA leak? Then what? You've compromised not only your own job, but also your two agents who were counting on you to provide them with security! Is "chatting" all worth that?"

"No sir," Bert humbly replied.

Auggie could feel Jai's evil grin. "And what are you doing here, Auggie?" asked Jai in a silky-smooth voice. "Rumor has it that you are on vacation. Though I make it a point never to listen to rumors, as their intel is wrong so many times."

"Not that it's any of your business," Auggie began, "but I'm here to get my recorder out of my desk. I was going to play around with it while my week drags on. And anyway, who died around here and made you king?"

"Joan. Actually, Arthur made me "king" for a couple of days. You see, Joan has meetings in the Pentagon. The rest of our agents are being polygraphed, drilled, and tested. And, as I am sure chatty Cathy over there told you, Annie's op is the only one running at the moment."

"I guess the powers that be figured Annie was too fresh from the farm to audit," Auggie added.

Jai sighed. "At least she is getting good training," he replied. "I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to train with Sanchez; the man's a living legend."

That last statement made Auggie squirm; living legends in the CIA often tended to go out in a bang. If an agent's record was exemplary and spotless, that meant that either he or she was perfect, or that he or she were smart enough not to get caught when they did wrong. The latter was far more plausible.

"Well," Jai said after a pause, "shouldn't you be getting about your business then?"

Auggie scowled in Jai's general direction and began to rummage around in his desk. He pulled the recorder out and put it in his pocket. Suddenly, static burst through the air. Auggie thumbed the recorder on and listened for the sound he so intensely wanted to hear.

"Good morning, Bert," Annie's voice came in loud and crackly.

Bert fumbled at the computer to reduce the static till it was just a dull murmur in the background. "Got you, Annie. How's Brazil?"

"Hot," she complained, and Auggie grinned. Well, she at least sounded okay.

"Any progress yet?" Bert asked.

Annie's voice went low; troubled. "Not yet. Marco is taking a ride with "Polo" later in order to talk over the deal some more. Who knew that deals could take so long to make?"

"Well, sometimes deals don't go the way they planned," Bert replied.

"Hey, Bert, I've gotta go," Annie said. Auggie frowned; it was not like Annie to be so short-spoken. "Tell August I said hi, would you?"

Bert laughed. "Tell him yourself; he's right here!"

"Auggie? He-" suddenly, in the middle of Annie's surprised response, the transmission cut off.

"Dangnabbit!" yelled Bert. "It keeps doing that!"

Auggie looked in Bert's direction. "Every time?"

"Yes," Bert scowled. "As soon as we know Annie's direct info, it cuts off. It's okay I guess; I was just looking forward to actually running an op with her, not being stuck as her messenger boy."

Auggie frowned even deeper. "Bert, Jai, I think Annie's in trouble," he stated.

"How would you know?" Jai responded.

"Well, the first thing that tipped me off was that Annie used my real name. Who around me calls me by my real name? And then there is the fact that we're only able to get bits of information out of her, but only the bits we need. My guess is Bert was never left hanging during one of these transmissions!"

Auggie could almost feel Bert roll his eyes. "Marco's mike is working," Bert stated. "He fills in any gaps Annie might leave. Fortunately, she is a very succinct agent."

"But she isn't at all!" Auggie stated. "Sometimes, I have to dissect the information from all her chatter. I don't mind it; in fact, I kind of like it, as it is like putting a puzzle together. But then, why would Annie be so straightforward and yet use the wordplay of 'Marco' 'Polo'?"

"You can't be serious," Jai said with a laugh. "Just because Annie is running an op without you, it has made you completely paranoid! Auggie, you need more than one week off. Take another off, and I'll forget to tell Joan you came in here as crazy as a walk-in."

Auggie fought the urge to walk over and punch Jai in the mouth. "When will you be sending in help?" Auggie asked, his voice low.

"When Marco says they need it," Jai responded just as coolly. "Now, I am temporarily in charge. I can't control what Joan does with you on a day to day basis, but I can control what I do with you today. Auggie, leave this base now, or I will be forced to have security carry you off."

Auggie swallowed both his temper and his pride; attacking Jai was not worth being put in jail. Turning on his heel, he stormed out the door and kept up the pace until he was back at the bus station. He didn't know which was worse; knowing Annie was in danger and that he couldn't do anything about it, or knowing that the CIA was such a mess right now that Annie would fall through the cracks until it was too late. And suddenly, as Auggie sat waiting for the bus, an idea dawned on him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: **Thanks so much for the reviews, you guys have been awesome! I have no idea why this story is coming to me so fast; I'm sure I'll have snags later, so... But please enjoy this next saga!

**Disclaimer: **The (emphasis on broke) college student is really enjoying Covert Affair's characters, but does not own them.

It was a stupid idea. A crazy idea! And like all crazy, useless, impossible ideas, Auggie stuffed it into the back of his mind and concentrated on something else. While he was waiting for the bus, Auggie listened again and again to the recording of Annie's brief call. She sounded troubled; her voice sounded nervous, and there were subtle differences in her tone. But, if Auggie strained his hearing enough, he could almost make out another sound behind the cloying static and the Amazonian bird calls. Auggie's musings were interrupted by the steady chugging of the bus; in frustration, Auggie resolved to listen to the recording again when he got home. Perhaps then, he could use some of his hacking tech to layer the sound over sound. He'd be interested to see what that odd background noise was.

As always, bus trips were long and tiresome. Auggie, having not gotten enough sleep the night before, began to feel drowsy. The sun was on his back, and a window was cracked open, admitting a pleasant breeze. Auggie sighed and nestled down into his seat; he still had over half an hour's worth of stops until he got back home. Slowly, a pleasant doze overtook him, and in moments he was asleep.

Auggie looked around; a world of light and color assaulting his senses. It was so confusing for his mind to adjust too, and yet seemed so natural. "This is the world as it should be," Auggie thought as he looked around. Again, Auggie was in a familiar room; except this time it was noticeably brighter. Morning, perhaps. Birds called to one another in the jungle beyond, and the room seemed even hotter than it did before. The light colored adobe drew light into the room, and the cool tile underneath his feet was a vibrant blue that reflected off the walls like mirrored water. Suddenly remembering how his dream had gone before, Auggie looked around for Annie. She was by a window; the only window in the room. Bougainvillea had grown up the sides of the exterior wall, and Annie stood before the window, the open shutters letting in the brightly colored flowery vines. Again, she wore all white; but this time it made her look camouflaged; like she blended into the walls. Auggie scrutinized his mental picture of her; it _seemed _as though it were Annie. The facial proportions were right. But Auggie had to be sure; he closed his eyes. For a moment, the world around him made sense again.

"Annie," he called into the darkness. "Annie, is that you?"

He heard her footsteps and felt the grace that emanated from her stride- it was her! Quickly, Auggie opened his eyes again. Annie was standing right in front of him. "I always wondered what you looked like," he whispered, pushing some strands of errant blonde hair out of chocolate colored eyes.

Annie smiled sadly. "Auggie, I miss you," she whispered.

Auggie leaned forward and held her close, protectively. "No one is going to hurt you," he soothed.

Annie laughed a shallow, tired laugh. "They already have, Auggie. It's just a matter of time," Annie stated.

Auggie looked at her, his face betraying the fear for her safety he felt in his heart. Then, suddenly, Annie began to back away. Her eyes were filled with terror, as if she didn't recognize him at all. "Auggie, HELP ME!" she screamed.

Suddenly, she began to bleed again from the wound in her stomach. Auggie rushed up to her and caught her again as she collapsed, looking for a knife wound or a bullet hole. Strangely enough, there were none. It was as if she were just bleeding though her skin, the crimson red clashing vibrantly with the crystal white of her dress.

"Help me," she breathed, and Auggie watched as her breathing grew labored, slower, and stopped. Auggie felt panic overtake him. "NO!" he yelled, and simultaneously jolted awake.

He could feel the stares of the crowded bus like a weight as he was once again thrust into familiar and comforting darkness. The bus driver announced his stop next, and gratefully Auggie exited the bus. He tapped his way to the elevator, paced as it carried him to his floor, and practically ran the rest of the way to his apartment.

Once he safely bolted himself inside, he took his recording of Annie's communication out and plugged it into his computer. Auggie then spent the next few hours dissecting the recording, using his Braille enhanced keypad. Patiently, he scraped off layer after layer of sound by feeling the vibrations in his fingers. Annie's voice was the first to go, followed by the bird calls. The static was much harder to get rid of; but finally Auggie managed to silence it to a whisper. He then listened for what only he could hear with those extra sensitive ears of his. There it was! Near the end of the recording; a dull murmur that showed only as a small vibration on his keypad. Auggie pinpointed it and enhanced it.

"Man los ples mice," Auggie heard a male's voice say. He frowned and enhanced the points of sound again.

"Mante losples o mice," the computer dutifully responded. Auggie enhanced it one more time; this time, breaking each sound wave into syllables.

"Mante-lo simples ou mais," the computer spat out, syllable by syllable.

Auggie listened to the computer spout the phrase for a couple more times, and then he ran a translation program. Annie was in Brazil, which meant that there people spoke Portuguese (coincidentally, Auggie mused, also Annie's favorite language). So, Auggie ran the phrase through the subroutine. The message he got was chilling.

"Keep it simple- or else," the phrase meant.

Auggie should have felt vindicated by knowing that his fears had some grounding in reality, but inside he was too worried about Annie to feel any satisfaction that he had been right. Auggie also knew that Jai wouldn't do anything for Annie until Joan got back; Jai would follow protocol right down to the letter and by then it would be too late. Annie needed help as soon as possible; Auggie could feel the urgency in his very core. And suddenly, the idea that Auggie had dismissed earlier as crazy while waiting at the bus station came back to him; and it didn't sound so crazy after all. In fact, it could be done! But in order to do it, Auggie would need some resources, some imagination, and quite a load of creativity.

Like all men, Auggie planned his attack on steps that needed to be taken. He _knew _that Annie was in danger; his head was now as sure as his heart, so his motivation was squared away. He also knew that, of all the people in the DPD, he was the only one who could help her _now_. No one was expecting him in for at least a half-week, and if Jai had _his_ way, another week would be added. Auggie was on vacation; no one would question it if he were out of phone range for a couple of days, and certainly no one would ever think twice about him taking a trip. Auggie's passport was current, thanks to the CIA. Therefore, his first step would be to buy plane tickets.

It was not too difficult to buy plane tickets for Rio Branco. Actually, the air fare was rather cheap, considering that the rewards perks to government employees included lots of frequent flier miles that Auggie never used. He cashed in his miles and bought two open-flight tickets; one round trip for himself, and a one way for Annie.

The next step took much longer to plan out. Auggie couldn't just walk into Valmor's house; he needed a cover story. For a while, Auggie thought of all the different "business man" proposals, but he couldn't come up with a flawless story. He needed to be able to move around unobserved. Finally, he settled on the least conspicuous of all covers; even if it was a little insulting for him. But to prepare this cover story, Auggie would need some special equipment- from a thrift store.

Blind beggars were a staple on every city street; to be poor and disabled was like being invisible. Though Auggie didn't feel inhibited at his job, and though he liked to joke about his blindness, using it as a crutch had seemed... dishonorable. Now, he would be taking his disability and exploiting it to the extreme. The idea unnerved (and in a way angered) him, but Auggie also realized that it was the best of his options. A rich man with knowledge of "spies" would be on the lookout for an extraction team or another "business" man. They would be looking for someone inconspicuous but someone still able to wield power. A poor person was nothing to a rich man; Auggie would barely be noticed at all. And it was not like Auggie was being sent to finish the op; he merely wanted to bring Annie home. Auggie believed that he could pull _that _off.

The thrift store downtown closed late on Wednesdays, which was good because Auggie had lost track of time. It was already evening, and by the time Auggie got down to the store, he only had a half-hour to shop. He did have the advantage of knowing the shop-keeper, though; his first few months of blindness he broke about a dish a day. It got to the point where he started coming to the thrift store to buy dishes; after all, he didn't care if the patterns matched.

Heidi, the store clerk, smiled as she saw Auggie come in. "Hey, Auggie, you haven't broken a dish in some time!" she said cheerfully.

Auggie grinned over at Heidi's general direction. "I need some help, Heidi. You see, my friends and I are planning this costume party, and I'm supposed to show up as a thug. I need to be wearing stained jeans and torn t-shirts, and I need to carry a slender stick like I've been street fighting. Oh, and I need a knapsack."

Heidi laughed. "You and those other lawyer friends of yours; it must get pretty boring sometimes when you think it is fun to dress up as the people you prosecute. Anyway, we don't sell anything ripped or tattered here... although I could check the new donations box. Some people just don't understand that when something is ready to go in the garbage no one else will want to wear it!"

Heidi shuffled off towards the back of the store. "Oh, and walking sticks and canes are in the bin by the register. Take three more steps to your right!"

Auggie took three precise steps and found the bin of canes. "You're awesome, Heidi!" Auggie called.

While Heidi was shifting through the day's donations, Auggie was fingering the canes. Most of them were heavy walking sticks, and were suited for leaning on, not using as sensory canes. Finally, as Auggie was just about to give up hope, he found the right cane. It was actually a hiking pole; but it was made of very light wood, was just his height, and skimmed the ground almost as well as his own cane did.

Auggie heard Heidi's steps; she was struggling with something. "A whole box full of junk!" she exclaimed as she neared Auggie. She set the box down, and Auggie could hear her rummaging through it. "Okay, in men's shirts we have a clean but grease stained white tee, a black tee with holes in it, and a blue polo with paint splatters. The rest look like they'd be either too big or too small."

"I'll take the white tee," Auggie said; for white tees were able to soil much easier than blue or black, besides the fact that a polo would look too nice.

"White tee it is," Heidi stated, folding it up. "Now, I have about three pairs of tattered jeans; the best one just has gaping holes in the knees. Here, try them on while I search for a knapsack. Fitting room is straight behind you, about ten large steps. Do you want your pack tattered too?"

"Please!" Auggie answered pleasantly, and he maneuvered his way quickly into the fitting room. Despite the allure of the other two shredded jeans, Auggie chose the ones that were mostly intact except for the knees. He may have to do walk a long way, and he wanted pants that could hold up as well as possible.

After changing back into his own clothes, Auggie headed back up to the register with his jeans. Heidi was waiting; she had already rung up his other two purchases. "The knapsack is made out of gray canvas, and it has a couple holes and clips broken. But the top is drawstring, and both straps are intact and sturdy."

"Perfect again!" Auggie said with a grin. "Remember that I owe you dinner in the near future."

"I'd love too," Heidi said, playing along. "But remember, Auggie, I'm married. I'm also twice your age."

"Shucks. Well, hopefully I can find the love of my life with these new duds."

Heidi stifled a horse-laugh, and Auggie, realizing that he had not been joking there, smiled, paid for his things, and left.

By the time he got back to his apartment it was late. Auggie was aiming to reach the airport at around three; his plane was to take off at five in the morning. Auggie hurriedly set about the rest of his preparations. He pulled out his "new" pack, filled his old canteen (that he had kept for nostalgic reasons) to the brim with water, and packed another couple of plastic water bottles along with it. Several purification tablets came in next. Then, Auggie threw in some rolls, dried fruit, crackers, and beef jerky from his cabinet; he kept emergency rations on hand just in case. The tattered clothes came next.

After packing, Auggie took his sneakers that he had used all the time for geek conferences and shredded them with a kitchen knife. The serrated edges tore the material in jagged streaks, and the shoes would at least (hopefully) look old. Auggie threw the shoes into the top, closed the sack, and proceeded to pack a separate pack for himself. In this suitcase went the respectable clothes, his hiking cane, the toiletries, and a massive amount of first aide supplies. Auggie wished he could also be taking his combat knife; but he'd have a hard time getting through security with that! Instead he settled on a camping knife that he wrapped up with his first aide. This would be going through baggage claim; he hoped desperately that it was not lost.

Finally, Auggie put his passport and one of his cash Visa cards into his wallet. When he finished, he checked the time. Ten-twenty at night! He only had a few hours to sleep; he'd have to catch a taxi around two. Auggie sat down to eat a hurried meal, took the last shower he'd probably have in days, set his alarm for one-forty, and was in bed by eleven. He almost dreaded going to sleep because he was afraid of seeing Annie, but this time, he fell into a deep and blessedly dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **I know this chapter is pretty short, but I've got some logistics to iron out in the next piece so I thought I'd separate them. Thanks so much again for all your reviews; I really appreciate them. I did however notice that in Tuesday's episode, Annie called Auggie "August." Drat, I thought. Oh well, it worked okay for my purpose.

**Disclaimer: **Covert Affairs is not mine. Neither is Brazil.

When Auggie woke, he spent about ten minutes researching Rio Branco on the internet. Rubber and Brazil nuts were the city's main exports, so, if Valmor was attempting to hide a large munitions facility, he would have to hide it under the guise of a rubber or nut farm. Either way, both Valmor's prospective covers offered Auggie a chance to get onto his property by being physical labor. Auggie then threw on his clothes, grabbed both his bags, and headed down to catch a taxi.

During the taxi ride (and the subsequent waiting to catch his flight), Auggie mulled over the finer points of his cover; like how he was going to explain away his inability to speak Portuguese. Several ideas popped into his head, but Auggie dismissed them; he didn't look Brazilian at all, and it would be difficult to pass himself off as a native. He finally decided on a simple explanation; he was a college exchange student that had decided to stay in the country and had fallen on bad luck. Though the education factor would put him on a higher level radar, if he played his cards right, he could still be poor, in need of a job, and virtually invisible. If Auggie pretended to be just like any other person scraping by, he would still be flying under the radar.

As Auggie waited for the plane, he wondered where this adventure would lead. After all, Annie had made it clear on several occasions that she liked Jai; she even had invited him over to her family's barbecue! And yet, Auggie realized that in his own heart, he really and truly cared about her. He didn't get the same vibe from Jai; it was as if Annie was a game to him. To Auggie, Annie was someone special, someone different. She reminded him of a butterfly newly hatched; she was naive about the spy world around her, yet fluttered through it with joy and cunning. She had received very bad luck during her first few ops, and yet she continued to serve faithfully and well. She was probably too naive to know that the ops weren't supposed to be that way. Auggie wanted her to stay that way; he didn't want her to become as jaded as he had become over the years. Yet, he didn't want her to leave either; he _needed_ her around. She had become a part of his day; the way that she would always greet him in the hall, the way she would sip coffee with him, and the way she would guide him in a strange setting. And Annie always trusted him; even when others doubted his loyalty. Auggie found that he couldn't focus well unless she was safe. However, she _was_ brilliant at this line of work, and would make a great agent. That is, if she didn't die first.

Once on the plane, Auggie settled back for a long ride. His time in the military had taught him to be so disciplined in mind and body that he could almost shut his brain down and sleep on command; which was very useful for long trips. Auggie reclined his chair and let his mind wander; in moments, he was asleep.

Auggie knew he shouldn't be surprised to see the room again in his dreams. But the vivid color of the floor clashing with the stark whiteness of the walls overwhelmed him, just as the instantaneous change from the frigid plane to the hot humid air took his breath away. Auggie closed his eyes for a moment to orient himself, then opened them again and looked around. The sunlight was intense; it had to be around noon. Annie was no where to be found. Slowly, Auggie turned in a circle, the small room panning oddly in his vision, until he found her.

Annie had been behind him all along, but she was lying on a bed (the only piece of furniture in the otherwise empty room). The bed was along the wall adjacent to the window, and Annie lay looking out into the hot Brazilian jungle.

"Annie?" Auggie asked, afraid that she might be dead yet again.

Annie's open eyes turned on him, their brown-hazel coloring looking almost green when being compared with the foliage outside. "Auggie?" she whispered. "Is that you?"

"I'm here, Annie," Auggie whispered, and he moved to sit beside her on the bed.

"I've been seeing you in the shadows, Auggie," Annie said tiredly. "You were there, looking to see if I was okay. They came in, and you looked very angry, but you were stuck in the shadow. How did you get out?"

Auggie felt his throat close up; he forced his emotions back into the box where they belonged. "You're delirious, Annie," he said lightly, stroking her face with his hand.

Annie smiled wanly. "Well, I'm sick, Auggie," she whispered.

Auggie tried to smile strongly and he took her hand in his. "Aww, don't worry, you'll get better. Help is on the way!"

Annie laughed bitterly. "Help... nothing can help. Nothing at all; except Prussian Blue."

Auggie tried to process this bit of information. Annie "worked" for the "Smithsonian," so it made sense that if she were delirious, she would be spouting off random bits of information she knew (like dyes they used in the 1700's). But this dream was different than the others had been, and the differences bothered Auggie. For one thing, Annie did not start off healthy and then suddenly die. Here, in the dream, she was slowly fading away. And for some reason, this dream seemed even more real than the others had; it was as if he were actually there with Annie!

"I'm sleepy," Annie groaned, and she nestled down into the covers. "I feel so weak; I hurt everywhere. Stay with me, Auggie?"

Auggie smiled; it was the one request he was glad to grant. "As long as my dream allows," he whispered.

Annie fell into a restless sleep then, and Auggie went about checking her vitals. Her pulse was rapid, and her heartbeat was shallow. Auggie noticed again that there seemed to be no wounds of any sort on her; she was just dying for no apparent reason.

"It's got to be a poison of some kind, or a drug," Auggie thought as the room finally began to cool. As he sat there musing, the room began to fade. Auggie held on to Annie's hand until the last, when yet again he was plunged into the darkness. His heart picked up speed as his mind regained its senses; they were landing in Rio Branco!

"Annie, help is on the way," Auggie stated, his heart prepared for battle.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **Thanks for staying with me! This chapter is a little long, to make up for yesterday's. We have one last dream, for anyone who may be thinking this is getting a little odd. I don't see Auggie as having any time to sleep again soon anyway. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Covert Affairs (but I am way enjoying this).

The plane landed in the late afternoon. The information kiosks would be open for a couple hours more, though, on account of the flight's landing. Auggie spent an hour in customs thinking up a name for himself once he was on the street. He wanted something generic sounding, however he still wanted to be somewhat debonair. As the two generally did not mix, Auggie settled with "Paulo," a Portuguese derivative of "Paul." At least, the Paulo in front of him was interesting. He had been talking to a woman he met on the plane and had almost talked her into marrying him.

Auggie smiled his way through customs and glided through the baggage claims; extremely glad that his baggage had not been lost. Making a quick detour into the bathroom, he opened his suitcase and changed from his travel clothes into his work suit and tie. He then proceeded to an information kiosk (after being guided there by a charming Brazilian flight attendant). Though it would be getting dark outside, Auggie hoped that he could still somehow catch a ride to Valmor's that evening; Auggie needed to see that Annie was okay right away. But, first things first, Auggie needed to get some intel.

"What can I help you with sir?" asked a man with a heavy accent.

Auggie smiled. "Wow, your English is good!" Auggie said, trying to sound like a dense insensitive tourist. "How'd you get to learn such good pronunciation if you lived in Brazil your entire life?"

Auggie heard the man sigh softly, as if to say, "stupid tourists." Out loud, the man said, "we learn English in the schools, sir. Almost everyone can speak it in Rio Branco; we are famous for our education here."

"Is that so?" Auggie added. "Why, that's just amazing. Well, I'm a hobbyist; I love to garden. I have heard that among many things, your people raise these great big rubber trees in order to harvest them. I've been wanting to visit a rubber plantation; several in fact!"

Auggie could just feel the incredulity fizzle off the man. "You came here just to look at trees?"

Auggie could tell he needed more. He leaned in and tried to look excited. "Well," Auggie said, "coincidentally, my fiancé is also a botanist. We met in school together. She has been doing her thesis on tropical tree sap properties, and I'm to meet her down here. We're going to get married soon; I can't wait! You know, I've been saving up for all natural bamboo furnishings for quite some time."

"Thrilling," the kiosk man commented unenthusiastically. "Sir, what do you actually need?"

"Directions," Auggie stated. "In her last letter, she wrote that she would be staying with a Val-something. He let her test a few of his trees, and kindly took her in for the weekend. I can't quite remember the name; Valdorn... Valor... maybe Val Kilmer... Na, he's like an actor or something..."

"Valmor?" the man asked.

"Yes! That's the one, Valmor! How do you know him?"

"Well," the kiosk man explained, "His rubber plantation is only one of the biggest ones around. Land wise, that is. Production wise... his crops are not to good. But what do you expect when you live in the hills; half the trees cannot grow past the temperature change."

"Where in the hills does he live... can I hire a taxi?"

"A taxi? Ha, now that is good! Senor, you would have to have a great many amounts of money to hire a taxi; the plantation is very far to the north and is where many thieves live. You can travel close to it by bus-car or boat, but then you would still have to walk a few kilometers. The stop is the last one before the river depot."

"Thanks," Auggie said, grinning from ear to ear. "But, you know, perhaps it wasn't Valmor. After all, she really shouldn't be so far outside the city away from the college. Are there any other Vals?"

"Sir, there is a line behind you now. Why don't you come back later and I will help you find your information," the kiosk man stated tiredly.

"Well!" exclaimed Auggie, indignant. "You know, they told me that service would be bad here, but I wasn't expecting to be brushed off!" He left indignantly to the groans of other people, and, once out of range, chuckled softly. He got his information!

The next step was to exchange his money for some Brazilian cash. Auggie had still had some travelers credit card money left over from his last crazy escapade, and as he stood there waiting for a teller, he noticed glumly that there was a pattern in the women he liked. Several minutes later, he had about four hundred Brazilian "real." He exchanged one hundred of it for smaller bills so he could manage bus or boat fare (if needed) and put the rest of it into his wallet. Then, he headed over to the airline's lockers.

Renting a locker took some assistance; for little to nothing in this airport was in Braille. Once a kindly attendant had helped him to the locker and had opened it for him, Auggie memorized the steps from the door to the specific locker. The locker (thankfully) was at hand level, and Auggie made sure he could open and close it a couple of times before he began to move on to his next phase. Leaving the locker empty, Auggie took both his bags and headed straight for the bathrooms.

The bathrooms were fairly empty, since the crowd from the evening's flight had left. Once the last man was out of the mens' restroom (Auggie had had a fifty-fifty chance and chose correctly, thank goodness), Auggie went in and locked himself into the biggest stall. He then proceeded to open both packs. First, the walking stick came out and his red cane was folded up and put in the suitcase. Next, Auggie re-arranged his knapsack; the tattered-looking clothes were taken out and donned, while his "respectable ones" were folded back again. He placed as much medical supplies as he could at the bottom of the bag and packed the food, water, and purifying tablets on top of it. He put his camping knife into a zippered pocket and disbursed the hundred real all about him; the bills went into the shoes, the coins into various pockets. He strung the locker key onto a sturdy slim rope he had in the first aide kit, and this he wore around his neck tucked under his shirt. He repacked his suitcase with the other three hundred real and his wallet, and, making sure everything was zipped up, he finally exited the bathroom.

Thankfully, it was a short walk to the locker room, and no one noticed him. Once inside, Auggie made a bee-line for his locker. He stowed away his suitcase with all of his own personal information. He then locked his locker, made sure his pack was on tight, and grabbed his cane. He whispered a quick prayer that everything would go well, ran his hand through his hair a couple of times so that he would look mussed up and not particularly well cared for, and headed for the door in the terminal. The first part of his journey was done.

Once outside, Auggie was assaulted by so many strange sounds and smells that he was glad he often went out to eat in crowded noisy places. It took him a moment to get his bearings, but he started tapping along the walkway listening for the sound of a motor or anything to identify a bus terminal. The air was cool; night had fallen, and people were busy rushing to and fro on every side of him. He felt like the only fish trying to swim upstream. Finally, Auggie reached a corner. Traffic swirled around him, and with no possible way to determine which way traffic was going, Auggie needed help.

"Anyone?" he called out loudly in English. "Anyone willing to help a blind guy? Please?"

Auggie felt pathetic standing there, calling out like a helpless person, but his calls were answered rather quickly. An older man (Auggie could hear his labored breathing and his deep chuckle) shuffled over to him.

"Hello, young one. What kind of help do you need?" the man asked kindly.

"I'm trying to get to the bus station, but I am lost."

"Well, no wonder! You were going the wrong way. Here, I will lead you."

For the next half hour, Auggie relied on the kindness of the stranger, and soon, he was situated on the bus. The stranger had helped him pay for his fare and had even helped him with language, telling the driver the stop he needed to exit at. Auggie tried to pay the stranger, but the man would have nothing of it, saying that good deeds were remembered before God. The next couple of hours were spent riding out towards the river depot, and at Auggie's stop he got off quickly and headed out. The road split in two directions; Auggie took the road the bus did not take. Sighing, he figured it was around midnight, but he was wide awake. Auggie therefore wasted no time in beginning his trek.

It was rough travel. The road was virtually solidified mud, and one step out of every three found Auggie yanking to pull his leg from the muck. The sounds of the forest at night were a loud cacophony of insects, animal calls, and strange cat roars, and Auggie felt not only small and defenseless but creeped out. The road curved upward, and for several hours it was nothing but relentless travel, pulling one leg past the other. Finally, toward dawn, an exhausted Auggie slumped down at the top of the hill. He took a few swigs from his canteen, ate a piece of beef jerky, and closed his eyes.

This time, he was not at all surprised to be standing by Annie's bedside. The moon was setting; its rays shining into her room directly from the window. It made Annie's pale sleeping form look unreal, as if it were carved out of ice. Softly, Auggie walked over to her. He sat down next to her and gently rubbed her back. "I'm on my way," he said quietly.

Annie woke at this, and Auggie kicked himself for waking her. But Annie only smiled. "Why do you look so sad?" she grumbled. "Where's my humorous lovable Saint Bernard?"

Auggie felt a smile twitch at his lips. "There hasn't been a lot to be humorous about lately," he stated.

Annie scowled. "An agent once told me that it helps to have a sense of humor. He was always making me laugh; now I am making him laugh. What is the deal?"

Auggie smiled wide then. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Tired, weak, but my stomach has stopped cramping. I threw the food out the window this evening. You should have seen it; you know, I can probably play professional ball with that arm of mine!"

Auggie looked towards the window. "That is a pretty far distance," he conceded. "I hope no one was under it when you made your famous pitch!"

Annie laughed evilly. "Oh, there _was_ someone there! I heard him screech in surprise." Annie's face then screwed up in pain; laughing had not been a good idea. "Ug," she exclaimed after a moment. "I better stop. Auggie, what's wrong with you?"

Auggie blinked in confusion. He had started to notice that it was difficult to breathe, but he figured it was just the dense air. He shrugged and tried to reassure Annie, but Annie had gone into her terrified pose.

"AUGGIE!" she screamed. "AUGGIE, WAKE UP!"

Auggie jolted awake, and noticed that it not only was difficult to breathe, it was also difficult to move. He could move his hand still, and so he reached out to grab whatever was pressing on his chest. His hand met with a wall of tensed muscle and scales.

"AHH!" he screamed; he was wrapped up in a boa constrictor! The snake didn't seem to care that its prey was now awake; it continued wrapping around him in slow, steady coils, preparing for the final squeeze that would break the ribs and collapse the lungs. Auggie thought fast; his knife was on the side where his hand was free. Using all his concentration, Auggie stretched out his hand towards the zippered pocket, but found in dismay that the snake had tightly coiled itself against the pocket. There was no way Auggie could get to his knife. In despair, Auggie started to struggle, which in turn made the snake coil tighter. The world around him began to ring in his ears, and Auggie began to gasp for air. Then, when Auggie was sure he would die there on that hilltop, he heard two loud blasts from a shotgun pierce through the collective static in his ears.

The snake went slightly limp, and Auggie struggled out of it. Reflexively, the muscles still tightened, but with no mind behind them Auggie managed to wriggle out. He lay in the mucky road, trembling and taking in huge gasps of air. Finally, when the sound in his world returned to normal and his heart had slowed, Auggie sat up in order to thank his rescuers. But before he could say anything, he reflexively froze when he heard the re-cocking of the gun.

"What are you doing here, trespasser?" asked a low, menacing, heavily accented voice.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Hello, everyone. Sorry this took so long coming, but like the rest of America (or so it seemed) I was away from my home over labor day. Hope this makes up for having you wait; I'll try not to be so evil again. But I will warn you, there is another cliffhanger here (though not as bad). Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own much of anything, least of all Covert Affairs.

Auggie put up his hands defensively. "I'm not armed," he stated, feeling like he had jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. "And I'm definitely not dangerous!"

"I wouldn't bet on that senor," growled the man with the gun. "Many times bandits have said the same thing, and we travel out to the fields to find another of our number dead. No, these hills house bad people."

Auggie tried a tentative smile. "Well, I'm not from these hills. I came from Rio Branco."

The man was silent for so long Auggie wondered if he had left. He had never known anyone to breathe so quietly! At last, as Auggie's knees began to feel like they were made of wood, the man stated, "you are blind?"

"Yes," Auggie replied, "though I think that makes it understandable why I am on your land; I didn't see a 'no trespassing' sign."

The man gave a laughing snort. "This is not my land," he said. "It belongs to Senor Valmor, the rubber farmer. And you are lucky I found you first; Fernando would have watched you be eaten by the snake, while Bernardo would have shot you. I, Tomas, will give you a chance to explain yourself. Who are you?"

Auggie swallowed to wet his dry throat and tried to answer without shifting his position. "Paulo," he said without hesitation. "I was a college student; but I lost my funding when I had the accident that made me blind. Since then, I have traveled to search for work. I have been many places; can you use a worker on this farm?"

Tomas let out a loud belting laugh and lowered his gun. "Can we use a worker? Maybe one in good shape with no tongue on them, but not one such as you? How can you empty the rubber buckets or see to place the taps?"

Auggie felt anger rise in his throat; he hated it when people thought that he couldn't do anything because of his eyes. But he kept quiet, knowing that he was on Valmor's land. The thing he should try to do most would be to look pathetic, so that he could at least get in the house. "Sir, is there anything I could do then for food?" Auggie asked, managing to sound rather plaintive.

"I will tell you what," answered Tomas after a moment, "Marisol, who is like a mother to us, will be pleased to feed you. She is always pleased to take in stray ones."

Auggie stood then, his wooden knees grinding together. "Thank you so much," he said.

Tomas clicked the safety on his gun, then pulled out something that sounded like a knife leaving a sheath. "No use letting this snake go to waste," he stated. "I will chop off as much meat as you and I can carry. That it how you will earn your breakfast."

Tomas set about to hacking up the snake, and Auggie felt his stomach squirm. _He_ had almost been the snake's breakfast, not the other way around.

Soon, Auggie was loaded up with snake meat. Tomas had tied the snake meat in bundles to his shoulders, and had loaded Auggie up in the same manner. Auggie felt like he was wearing a thousand pound sack, carrying nothing but snake muscle. He used his walking stick to prod along, following the sound of Tomas's cheerful whistling. They must have hiked three miles back to Valmor's estate; Auggie's already tired and sore legs were trembling from exhaustion by the time they arrived.

Auggie first felt the change under his feet. The mud had given way to harder ground, and in five minutes or so the harder ground became flat smooth pavement. Then, the air changed around him; becoming cooler and less humid. Auggie took welcome gasps of this air; it was less thick and didn't feel like he was continually breathing under water. Then, he heard the clattering and clanging associated with a kitchen.

Tomas never stopped whistling, but entered the kitchen with a dramatic rise in volume. Auggie heard several women laugh and say rapid phrases in hurried Portuguese, not even pausing in their work. Auggie heard little to no English, until suddenly he heard a woman exclaim, "Tomas! Look all, the Whistler has found us a new pet!"

Good-natured laughing followed, and Auggie felt the burden swept from off his back. The snake flesh had been taken to be cooked or stored. Auggie straightened out, his back hurting like fire from being bent over so long.

"Oh, he is not so little," laughed another woman. "He looks much more dignified standing up straight!"

"He's so cute!" another exclaimed.

The women laughed again, and Auggie felt himself staving off frustration. The room felt like a blur around him; noise coming from everywhere, and he dared not move for fear of running into someone or something. Then suddenly, he felt a hand grab his.

"Never mind these jabbering birds," said a woman with an older voice. "Follow me; you have done a good morning's work; you shall receive at least a decent breakfast!"

Auggie was then led into a smaller room, but none the less noisy. Utensils clattered against dishes, and a continuous vibrating hum of Portuguese covered up the chewing and crunching noises. Auggie walked until the woman pushed him down gently into a chair of sorts. It was quieter here; he must have been put into a corner. A bowl was pushed into his hands, and Auggie took a tentative sniff. Fresh baked bread dipped in... milk? Well, that was something, anyway. Auggie explored the rest of the bowl and found out it held some fruit as well. "Good," he thought, for despite his secret stash of jerky, Auggie was starving.

He heard the woman pull up a chair next to him. "I am Marisol," she said without preamble, "and you are a long way from Rio Branco. Tomas said your name was 'Paulo.'"

Auggie nodded, listening with all his might to the conversations around him in order to hear if anyone had heard of Annie. Marisol waited with an expectant silence, though, so Auggie decided to expand. "I used to go to the college here, and was in an accident where I lost my sight. I had nowhere to go and so I stayed in Rio Branco."

Marisol was silent for a moment, then replied, "But are you not American? Will not your own country take you back?"

Auggie shrugged, trying to look like he was totally homeless. "I have no reason to go back," he said after a moment.

"No family?"

"Nope." Auggie continued to chew, trying to look tough and yet vulnerable at the same time.

After a moment, Marisol said, "I have some extra work that needs to be done in the kitchen today- can you shell peas?"

Auggie's face broke into a wide grin. "I grew up on a farm!" he exclaimed. "I can shell peas in my sleep!"

"Good," Marisol affirmed. "You can stay for today. As soon as you are done eating, I will lead you to your work station. We have many, _many_ peas to shell."

Auggie had wanted to run off and look for Annie straight off the bat, but he didn't know his way around yet. The last thing he wanted to do was end up somewhere he was not supposed to be, and then what? Knowing how much these people liked to use their guns... Auggie hated to think of what would happen to himself (and to Annie) if he were caught.

Instead, Auggie let himself be led to a table and was sat down next to two bowls. One held pea pods, heaped up in a huge pile. The other was empty. Auggie had TONS of experience shelling peas from his childhood, though, and he soon fell into a decent rhythm. Shelling peas brought him back to his days on his family's farm; running through the fields playing hide and seek with his older brothers, fishing in the creek, and chasing his dog through the fall leaves. He was just imagining the singular crunching sound they made when into the room bounded a virtual wall of feminine laughter. The rustling husks of plants were suddenly being rustled in every direction, and the pouring of beans into sorting baskets from every side made the room seem like it was in the middle of a thunder storm. The noise died down as everyone else got into a steady rhythm of working; talking was now the preliminary mode of entertainment.

The girls talked back in forth in beautiful waves of Portuguese, and Auggie felt a pang of jealousy that he could not understand them. However, one name just kept coming up; "Eduardo." One of the girls laughed each time someone said the name, and soon an animated story was underway. Auggie listened in earnest, but no familiar words reached his ears. At last, as the woman was ending her story, Auggie asked loudly, "who is Eduardo?"

The women stopped their chattering in surprise, and Auggie felt his face redden. But suddenly, one of the women (the one who told the story) explained. "Eduardo is a joker who is always trying to get out of work. Today he is in bed sick because he said a plate flew out of the window and hit him last night. I heard that Valmor heard his story and beat him for his lies, but Eduardo holds that his mouth is swollen from the plate. Too bad, too; Eduardo is a great kisser. Isn't that right, Vanessa?"

Shrieks wailed as Vanessa apparently threw a handful of beans at the story teller. Auggie, remembering his dream and how Annie had said she threw her food out the window, didn't let the story die. "Wow," he said. "What a crazy story! I wonder if it is true?"

The storyteller laughed. "It may be true; after all, it is the ghost room."

"Ghost room?"

"Yes. There are many rooms in this house, but one of them is a ghost room. So the legends go, anyone who dies on the plantation can have a place to stay in the ghost room, which is the highest room in the house. Eduardo was under the room last night, waiting to serenade Vanessa when the plate hit him."

"And you should have seen his face!" shouted another girl with glee. "It was all bloodied up; that'll spoil his fine looks for a while."

"How dare you!" shrieked Vanessa in mock anger, and the bean throwing contest began again. Auggie thought for a moment about ways to ask the girls if they had seen Annie, then suddenly an idea spring into his head. "I knew of someone who died around here," he began.

The room went quiet again except for the scrapings of knives on food. "Please, tell," said the storyteller; it was evident that these women loved a good ghost story.

Auggie grinned morbidly. "There was someone I knew in college; not well, but knew of. Anyway, she was a beautiful woman, with a voice like a water-spring and a walk like a panther. She spoke with a laugh in her voice, but with sorrow in her heart. One day, she and her uncle traveled to this plantation. She was very kind to all, but became very sick. Her uncle took her away, but she died on the way home. If it is true you have a ghost room, perhaps she is there."

No one said a word; after a moment, the girls began to get up. One by one they left the room. Auggie cursed himself for his stupidity; how could he have been so dumb! He not only gave away his knowledge of Annie, but had made himself known. And yet, he had been hoping that his story would bring him at least some intel. Suddenly, he was yanked out of his laments by a person clapping their hands in a slow, steady beat.

"Bravo, bravo senor," said the storyteller, presumably the last in the room. "You have indeed seen a ghost. Now, I am a woman of reason, plus an excellent storyteller. You tell me your _real_ name now. If I like it, perhaps I will help you. If it is something I do not like, I will not hesitate to scream and my friends will not hesitate in killing you."

Auggie took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Auggie," he said after a moment. "My name is Auggie."

"_You're_ Auggie!" the woman exclaimed. "That is a good name to choose, senor. I have been helping to care for Annie, and I have heard her call for you many times. The girls who were just in here don't know about her. They too think she is a ghost."

Auggie nodded in relief, glad that he had found a friend in the house of his enemy. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his own. "Come with me," the storyteller urged. "You must hurry, before the kitchen crew returns to start lunch."

Auggie let himself be led through several corridors, up through flights of stairs, and through several doors. "This house must be huge!" he thought to himself; it seemed an eternity before they stopped their flight in front of a room.

"Go through the door in front of you," the storyteller stated; then she turned and fled.

Auggie found himself standing before an old swinging wooden door totally alone. He took a deep breath placed his hands on the weathered wood, and gave the door a push. It swung open into a wide, cool, and airy room. Auggie walked in and asked tentatively, "Annie? Annie, are you here?"

Suddenly, the door behind him slammed and a man was standing behind him. Auggie heard his heavy tread an knew that this was not just any man; it had to be a large, burly man. A voice in front of Auggie beckoned him into the room farther.

"Come in, spy," the man snarled. "My name is Marco Sanchez, and now you are going to tell me how you are in the wrong place at the absolute worst of times."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Hola! Thanks for all the reviews! I know this chapter is short, but the plot it getting much thicker and is getting difficult to write in a day. I'm just glad I still have readers. Enjoy lucky chapter seven!

**Disclaimer: **Covert Affairs is not my property.

Auggie scowled. "This day just keeps getting better and better," he mumbled.

Marco Sanchez stood and began walking around the room, passing his guard that had planted himself by the door. "What is your name?" he said after a moment.

"Paulo," replied Auggie.

Marco spat something out in Portuguese. Auggie shrugged off whatever comment it was and said, "If that was supposed to be something offensive, I didn't get it."

"You are not Portuguese! You are not even Hispanic!" Marco exclaimed.

"You're very good at observing things," Auggie commented wryly.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a fist connected with his jaw. Auggie felt his body reel backward, and it took his mind a moment to connect with the pain and the rest of his body. Wham! He hit the ground with a surprised thud, and felt a hefty foot plant itself on his chest, pinning him down on the floor.

"Leave him alone, Hector," ordered Marco, apparently in front of Auggie. "In fact, leave us. The boy is so small and scrawny a child could beat him! Wait for me outside the door."

Hector must have complied, because there was the sound of a door opening and closing with a loud clang. Auggie struggled to stand again, throwing his arms about disoriented until he found a chair to pull himself up on. He had never been called scrawny; never in his entire life! He was a warrior for pete's sake, and if he was being called scrawny, how big was Marco Sanchez? Auggie heard Marco walk around the room and pull the drapes, then rummage around in his desk for something. Finally, when Auggie was upright again and had oriented himself, he heard Marco coming back towards him.

"Sorry about that; Hector goes a little overboard sometimes," Marco said, and Auggie felt a cold, oily substance be smeared over his eye. Auggie flinched and brought up his hands to defend himself. "Stop!" Marco hissed. "Just do as I say, and all will be okay."

"How on earth am I supposed to trust you?" Auggie hissed. The substance stung.

"I know where Annie is," Marco replied. "And if you value her life and yours, you better trust me. Now, you are not my contact from my people. I did not ask for an extraction from yours. I presume you are with the DPD?"

Auggie shook his head. "I am from nobody. Annie is a friend of mine, and I work with her. But I wasn't sent."

Marco scowled. "How did you know that she was in danger?"

"She used a code especially for me in her message a couple of days ago. 'Tell August I said 'hi'.' I could hear in her voice that something is wrong."

Marco unexpectedly laughed. "Well, if she lives, she will make a great agent. Yes, it is good that you are here; she needs medical attention as soon as possible. I will tell you what happened; but first, I need you to scream. I am supposed to be beating you; the stuff I will now be putting on your face is makeup; for you need to look beaten."

Auggie felt like he was dealing with the bipolar agent, but he didn't know what else to do. He didn't trust Sanchez at all, but he needed to know where Annie was. "Do what you have to to complete your mission," his mind said. Auggie took a deep breath and cried out with a tortured scream.

For the next five minutes, Auggie yelped and hollered while Marco yelled and commanded. A chair was broken somewhere, and anything that was glass on the desk was whole no longer. Auggie could hear Hector laughing outside, and he felt happy that at least Hector was fooled. Finally, Marco (in a very exaggeratedly loud voice) said, "NOW YOU WILL GIVE ME YOUR INFORMATION!"

Auggie rubbed his ears to get rid of the ringing left in the wake of Hector's proclamation. "Okay, OKAY!" he played along. "I'll tell you anything you want to know!"

Auggie heard Hector walk away, and he smiled. Marco also heard it and waited for a beat. "Okay," Marco began. "First, my story. I have been an agent for a long, long time. In my agency, agents do not last long at all. But I was a prodigy; I lasted the longest of my group. How I did so was not always honorable. You see, to be accepted among bad men, you also have to appear to be bad yourself. I sold arms and dealt in drugs as well as any man; only all my dealings went back to the government. But to secure my position among them, I embezzled some of the money into a secret account."

Auggie could see where this is heading. "How much did you trick your government out of?" he asked nervously.

"Many, many, _many _dollars," Marco replied. "Let us just say that I can retire and live like a king for the rest of my life... about forty times."

Auggie paled. "So, this is your last mission?"

"My sins finally caught up to me," Marco confirmed. "My people found out what I did. I was already scheduled to go on this mission; so they didn't want me back from it. I was supposed to arrive here, and an informant was to tell Valmor who I really was. I was then to be killed in the line of duty, dying like a hero to my people. I wasn't even aware of their plan until I tried to call for an extraction; I had already been cut off. But you see, much went wrong with their plan. First, I was supposed to go in alone. The only reason the DPD was involved was because of the rogue agent Ben Mercer. Your CIA director Campbell or other wanted her with me on this mission because of her expertise in dealing with him. Personally, I thought this mission was a little too much for someone so inexperienced."

Auggie nodded in agreement. "I thought the same thing when I heard it too," he mumbled. "I wonder if that is why I was forced to go on vacation at the exact time the mission was going down; I would have stopped it before it got too far."

Marco sighed. "Well, I wish you could have stopped it. Everything backfired on us. The informant told Valmor a spy was among him, but he did not suspect me in the least. I am _very_ well established in the cartels. Instead, they believed Annie was the spy. They kept her healthy long enough to keep in regular contact with you, and I 'played along' by 'pretending to be a master spy.' If only Valmor knows how sick his humor really is... at any rate, now my government won't take us out. They want me dead, and if that means killing your friend, so be it."

"Why did you not call for help on our side?" Auggie asked angrily.

"Because of who is in charge. Jai Wilcox. Tell me, you work with him and don't know who he really is?"

Auggie frowned. "No, I don't know who he _really _is. Who is he?"

Suddenly, the pair heard steps in the corridor. "Quickly!" Marco whispered. "Get into that chair!" He then ran and threw the makeup into a desk drawer.

Auggie turned around, waving his hands hoping to hit a chair. It was all in vain. "Where?" he asked desperately.

Suddenly, he felt Marco's iron grip shove him into a seated position. It felt very disconcerting, like he was being shoved through air, but a chair did catch him. Just as Marco righted himself, the door opened. In walked Hector with a new pair of footsteps.

"Marco, my friend!" shouted none other than the infamous Valmor. "Caught another, have we?"

"Yes," Marco spat. "Another little cub putting its head where it doesn't belong."

Valmor inspected Auggie. "Wait; he is blind! Is America's budget crisis so bad that they have resorted to this? What is your name kid?"

"Paulo," spat Auggie, "and I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Of course you don't," Valmor mockingly crooned. "Marco, did you get anything out of him?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," Marco replied.

Valmor thought for a moment. "I have a feeling we will get much more from him later. For now, put him with the girl; it makes no sense that these two should dirty two guest rooms. Housekeeping would never let me hear the end of it."

Hector was only too willing to adhere to that order, and Auggie felt himself be yanked out of the chair. "We'll be seeing each other later; or at least, I will be seeing you," Valmor sneered.

Marco also added in his two cents. "I also hope to have the chance to get you back for what you said about my cousin, Jai," he replied venomously.

Auggie scowled in their general direction, but inside his heart was light. He was going to be put in with Annie! And maybe, _maybe_ the great Marco Sanchez would have a plan.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: **Onward the story plunges with its own crazy plot twists! I hope you all enjoy the story; I know it is a little far fetched at this point, but it's all in fun (and I'm still a beginner writer, so...). Thankfully, the plot will thin out after this chapter. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Covert Affairs.

Auggie scowled as he felt himself be thrown into yet another room; this one with cold smooth tile. "Enough with the flinging me around!" he shouted out. Hector gave an unkind laugh and left the room. Auggie heard the door slam and a bolt be drawn across it. Then, footsteps faded again in the hall. Auggie stood and took a deep breath. If this was the same room in his dreams, and the door was behind him, then... Auggie drew a mental picture of the room in his head. Annie would be to his right, and the window would be to his left. Auggie wanted to run straight to Annie's bedside, but he had the feeling the room was bugged (despite Annie's previous claims that no one could hear them). Quietly, Auggie began to drag his hand around the smooth adobe walls. If it were him placing a microphone, where would he put it?

Auggie walked to the likeliest of places, and darned if there wasn't a mike there (placed for optimum catching of sound waves). The mike was mounted in a corner, but it was low enough Auggie could still reach it with ease. He pondered what to do with it; if he smashed it, people would come running right away to take care of their damaged equipment. No, he needed it to still be recording (but needed it to be muffled). Auggie felt extremely frustrated. A band-aid would have done the trick, but his pack had been taken. Chewing gum also would have done the trick, but Auggie had none on him. Auggie checked his pockets anxiously. He still had his knife (which was very good news), some coins, a few pieces of paper he thought were money, his key, and a stale piece of beef jerky. Nothing was of use; nothing... except maybe...

Auggie put the piece of beef jerky in his mouth and furiously chewed. After a while, the jerky became a salty lump of mashed up protein. Auggie grinned as he took it out of his mouth and covered the microphone in it. "There," he thought with glee. "That'll mess up the sound!" Then, he turned towards Annie.

The whole time, Auggie's ears had been listening for the sound of her breathing. He was measuring her heart rate in his head while he was messing with the microphone; her raspy, uneven breathing made her heart rate alarmingly thready. He wasted no time getting over to her, and, finding her bed the hard way (he ran straight into it and bruised his shin), Auggie took his customary seat at her side.

"The trouble is I like you way too much, Annie Walker," he whispered fondly. "This relationship is going to have some very strange twists and turns in it."

"Auggie?" Annie whispered. Auggie had never been so happy to hear her voice.

"I'm here, Annie," he said gently.

"You left for the longest time," Annie said tiredly. "And even the shadows left. Everything is shimmering now, as if it was making it's own light."

Auggie grinned at her, pleased to see that her command of language hadn't deserted her even when she was deathly ill. It made his heart hurt all the more, though. "I won't be gone so much anymore," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my skin is burning and every muscle I have is burning. And my head feels funny; I feel like I'm not even here anymore. I don't know what's here anymore. Was I ever really here?"

Auggie cringed as he listened to Annie's strange babblings and gripped her hand all the harder. "You are with me now; feel my hand?" he asked.

Annie sighed. "Oh, well, I suppose. Did you bring Prussian Blue, Auggie? I need the paint... well, maybe not the paint. The floors are already blue. Hey, when did you become blind? "

Auggie thought his heart would break. Annie was _much_ worse off; she needed to be under the care of a doctor as soon as possible. "I've been blind for as long as you've known me, Annie. Four years, remember?"

"Hm, that's odd. You could see me before," Annie replied. Then, she slowly drifted off again into a restless sleep.

Throughout the rest of the day, Auggie fretted and worried about Annie. He had to somehow, someway get her out of the house and on her way to a doctor. He wondered if Jai was now preparing an extraction team; clearly, Annie wouldn't be able to coherently respond to any of their inquiries. But if Jai was really involved in the whole mess... then Auggie feared an extraction wouldn't be coming.

Several hours later, it was dark. Auggie felt the change in the air before their supper was brought in. Though it smelled tempting, Auggie refused to eat it, knowing that they would have put in some form of poison. Something odorless, tasteless, and undeniably deadly.

Annie woke up to the sound of the door being closed again, but she wasn't anymore coherent than she was before. Auggie was just wondering whether to chance giving her water when the keys clanked again and the door opened. "Marco?" Auggie asked, recognizing the tread of his footsteps.

"Yes, it is me. We don't have that much time, though," Marco said hurriedly. "Here," he began, putting a small cloth bag into Auggie's hand and a large gallon of water by his side. "The bag contains two capsules of sleeping powder. It makes you look like you are dead. Valmor knows you are a spy; he will not think it strange that you decided to kill both yourself and the other agent. He will not be pleased, but he will have nothing better to do with you than to send you to the graves. Take them tomorrow evening; I will arrange passage for you two back to Rio Branco. Can you make it back home from there; you obviously had no problem getting here."

"Yes, I can get us back home," Auggie replied.

Marco nodded, then sighed deeply. "And now, about your leader Jai."

"He's not our leader," said Auggie. "He's just making sure the house doesn't burn while our leader is away."

Marco laughed gruffly. "You're house has more than burned," he chuckled.

"Yes, exploded," Auggie stated humorlessly.

Marco became thoughtful. "That's a funny choice of words you used," he stated.

"So, who is Jai?" Auggie asked after a moment.

Marco looked side to side (it was so deathly still he could hear the muscles in Marco's neck crack) and responded in a whisper, "He is an Equalizer."

"No. No, there is no such thing!" Auggie said in disbelief.

Marco growled irritably and was about to reply when Annie's groggy pain-filled voice spoke up. "What is an Equalizer?" she asked.

Auggie shook his head. "It is a spy legend," he said. "You know, every organization has their own stories and tall tales, and we have ours."

"An Equalizer," Marco explained, "is a Master Spy that fails their mission, but are too valuable to "let go" (either by being fired or killed off). Instead, they are "adopted" in a way by a bureaucrat or a department head. Their mistake gets covered up, and they spend the rest of their lives in service to that particular man. They kill whomever their boss wants killed, they protect whomever the boss want's protecting; they do whatever the boss wants done. But an Equalizer is more disturbing than any other rogue agent, for they still work among other agents normally. You wouldn't be able to tell even that your friend would be an Equalizer, and one day you and he could be standing side to side and he'd get the order to kill you!"

Auggie felt Annie's hand go limp once more; she had passed out again. "Jai is not an Equalizer," Auggie stated. "I mean, I have no love for the guy, but the kind of agent you're talking about is a psychopath who views every other agent as a potential target. Every agent cares for at least someone else!"

"Not so!" Marco objected. "Equalizers are the way they are because they view life as a game, whether in the spy realm or without. They are kept in check by the love of the game, and find it fulfilling to lead a double, sometimes even triple life. They are even worse than double agents, because they have no side and no conscience."

Auggie shrugged. "I'm telling you, Jai cares for his other agents, especially for Annie," he mumbled. "Why would he deliberately put her in danger?"

"Ben Mercer," replied Marco.

"And just what does he have to do with all of this?"

"Four years ago, a truckload cache of powerful nuclear explosives were stashed in Iraq. Jai Wilcox and Ben Mercer were sent to retrieve them. My government too knew of the conflict; I was sent at the same time to the same place as your friends so that I could perhaps buy the weapons back should they fail. Only about fifteen people knew of the cache, and at least three were on our side. But the other twelve people were terrorists; they intended on using the bombs as soon as possible. The weapons material was very valuable, and the two agents came up with a plan. Ben Mercer would reclaim the truckload and drive it to a base, while Jai Wilcox would execute the people with the remaining knowledge of the cache and stage an explosion to make it look as if the weapons were destroyed. But the plan did not go well. Ben Mercer and his cache of weapons simply disappeared. Jai's assignations went well, but the 'explosion' he set off without waiting for go-ahead from his handler. It cost the eyesight of one of the several agents who were sent in with the false intel that Jai needed backup."

Auggie felt his heart begin to race; he wanted to deny everything Marco just said so that the wall of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him would die down. But Auggie apparently wasn't a seething volcano on the outside, because Marco continued on without pause.

"By rights," he said, "Jai should have been forcibly resigned (at the least), but someone higher up wanted or needed an agent. The accident became a mysterious unsolved case, the blinded agent resigned to office work, and the agent Jai Wilcox continued to search for Ben Mercer with every moment of every day. As far as I know (this from my Washington leak), until recently, Jai's main priority was to catch Ben Mercer. When Annie came on, Jai was moved to your department in order to complete his mission using her as bait. That is why she was sent down here, and your department is in turmoil; whoever Jai's real boss is, they don't want the head of the DPD in any trouble. By leading her on a wild goose chase for the leak they effectively remove her out of the way."

Auggie shook his head in disbelief; it was too much to take in! This was a massive conspiracy, like something you would read about in a black and white magazine. It was like some soapy spy novel; something that was filled with plot twists that didn't make sense. Jai, a killer agent, and the one responsible for his blindness? Ben Mercer, a rouge with a truckload of nuclear weaponry? Annie, a piece of bait being thrown to the sharks over and over again, and Auggie her blind guard dog.

"It's impossible," Auggie stated flatly. "There is no way that any of that could possibly be true. Either your intel is wrong, your informant is crazy, or you yourself are crazy!"

Marco sighed tiredly. "Really, it doesn't matter what you think now," Marco stated. "But I believe I am right, and now I will just have to prove it. You will see if you are still around tomorrow; wait until Jai comes to Valmor's house."

"Is he supposed to be here?" asked Auggie tensely.

"I'd assume so, because Ben Mercer's on his way as well."

Auggie had had it! "How, how HOW do you possibly know all this?" asked Auggie.

Marco gave a wry laugh and stood up, heading for the door. "Common sense," Marco said as he began to walk out of the room. "After all, Valmor's the one who has been trying to sell all of Ben's weapons!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: **Ah, the saga continues! Thank you all so much for the reviews; I am blown away by the number of people having fun with this story. Enjoy the next installment, and I'm sorry about the end; I couldn't help myself!

**Disclaimer: **I said it before, need I say more?

Auggie frowned and paced the floor after Marco had left. It couldn't be true... could it? Time wise, it made sense. After all, he had lost his eyesight four years ago. Annie had met Ben in Sri Lanka about three and a half years ago (she met him, traveled around the world for two years after, then joined the agency and was trained for one short year). If Ben was on the run from Jai, then it would make sense that he and Annie's paths would cross. But Jai being responsible for Auggie's blindness...

"Well," Auggie thought resigned, "at least it gives me a viable reason to hate the guy."

The thought of nuclear weapons being sold now by Valmor seemed far fetched. If Ben was a bad guy, then why would Jai bother sending Annie down here. Jai would have come himself. No, the only reason Annie was sent was because she was the only agent available who spoke Portuguese and was not under suspicion for being a leak at the time. Joan had sent Annie herself, and if Joan had known they were nuclear weapons instead of regular arms like guns and ammunition, she would never have sent Annie in a million years. The intel would have had to be good for Joan to make that call; there must be an informant among Valmor's staff. So, it that was the case, then it meant that Marco was lying to Auggie about Valmor. But why lie, especially if you went rogue. What good would it do you? In fact, why did Marco choose to tell Auggie that much information in the first place?

Auggie put his questions aside for the moment, and went to check on Annie. She was still unconscious, and her pulse was still hammering away at a rapid pace. "This is not good," thought Auggie. "She may not make it till tomorrow night when Marco will arrange our escape."

A thought then struck Auggie with a cold jolt; if Marco was a bad guy, then neither of them would leave the house alive. Sure, Marco had promised help, but if he lied about some of his information, why not lie about the help. Auggie reached into his zippered pocket and felt the two pills in the cloth bag. What if they were not sleeping pills; what if they were poison? A dose to finish each of them off. Auggie scowled and slipped the pills back into his pocket. It would be extraordinarily dangerous to dose Annie anyway; especially when her pulse was so rapidly jumping from quick and pounding to slow and thready.

The thought of Annie spurred Auggie into action; he needed to escape and get help now, before anything else happened. Quickly, he set about making Annie comfortable. He sat her up (trying not to let the groans of pain dismay him) and made her drink a few mouthfuls of water from Marco's gallon. Auggie figured the water would be fine; for if Marco was a good guy then everything he said was legit. If he was a bad guy, then he was meaning to poison them tomorrow night anyway. In both cases, the water would be fine.

During this time, Annie woke a little, coughing and sputtering from Auggie's last attempt at playing nurse. "What are you trying to do?" she mumbled irritated. "Drown me?"

Auggie grinned. "I'm only trying to make sure you are taken care of. I have to go out again."

"Mmm," Annie mumbled, beginning to loose consciousness again. "I'm all wet."

"Annie," said Auggie after taking a quick drink himself, "did you see Valmor's arms supply?"

"Yeah, he showed them to us. Why?"

"What were they?"

"Jus regular arms," Annie slurred. "You know, like guns an stuff. I don see what the big deal was; he din have enough to even bother..." At this, Annie slipped away again.

Auggie laid Annie back down, shifting her shoulders around until she was resting comfortably. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then stood up, determined. He had to find a way out. From where he was standing, there were two options. The door and the window. The door was thick and sturdy, but Auggie might be able to take his knife and stick it into the lock. Because the lock was a deadbolt, Auggie might be able to scoot it along till the lock was back in its slot. But Hector guarded the door on and off, and Auggie knew that he were no match for Hector (despite his excellent hand to hand combat experience).

The second option was the window. It was just an open hole in the wall; no bars and no shutters. Valmor probably figured he did not have to safeguard it; Annie wasn't well enough to attempt an escape and Auggie was blind. He'd be crazy to try! Besides, the room was very high up. Curious though, Auggie walked over to the window and ran his hand along the sill. His sensitive fingers hit a thick, gnarled piece of wood. He followed it along with his hand, and suddenly a picture fragment from one of his dreams came back to him. Annie was standing by the window looking out; twisted, brightly green and pink vines of bougainvillea framing her figure. Auggie followed the vine, leaning over the sill to the outside wall. His hands met more wood; a trellis. The vines were climbing a trellis.

"Are you INSANE?" his mind screamed as Auggie registered what he planned to do. "You have to be CRAZY to attempt this!"

Auggie felt his body freeze. He reasoned with himself. "Look, this really is the best way. No one will be looking for escapees this way. Besides it'll be too dark for anyone to see me. I'll be able to escape and get help; Annie needs it now!"

His mind chewed and swallowed that. "Fine," it grudgingly admitted, and Auggie felt the use of his limbs restored to him. "But only because I love Annie... I've got to stop loving these hard cases."

Slowly and somewhat shakily, Auggie climbed onto the windowsill and balanced himself. Then, moving one limb at a time, Auggie grabbed the vines and hoisted himself out. His feet caught the trellis, and slowly, inch by inch, Auggie began to descend the vines. Moving totally by feel was not new to him, but Auggie realized that he had an advantage being blind; he couldn't see how high up he was and get scared. He began to be more confident and moved with quicker and surer movements, till suddenly there was nothing below him and his foot met with air.

"Ahh!" Auggie gasped, and he clutched at the vines with all his strength. Pulling upward this time, Auggie climbed back to where he had all four limbs on relatively safe handholds. Then, shifting his body around, he reached down with his hand and felt the nothingness. He moved his hand over more, but still felt a void.

Auggie was thoroughly confused. He scooted across the vines some more and tried to define the apparent hole in the wall he was feeling. Then, suddenly, his hand met wood, and Auggie realized that he had come to another window. The realization made his heart stop hammering, and with a shaky laugh he relaxed and got a better grip on his position above the window. The shutters were open; there would be no need to climb to the ground! Auggie was ecstatic at his good fortune, and he prepared to switch handholds when he heard the door in the room below him open. Quickly, he locked his arms into the vines and stood there, unmoving. He would not be visible from the inside of the room, but the last thing he wanted was for someone to hear a noise and come looking for him.

Two laughing voices met his ears; one Valmor's, and one Marco's. "So, let me get this straight," Valmor said. "You told him that his boss is a rogue agent?"

"Brilliant, isn't it," replied Marco. "You see, if he thinks his temporary boss is a bad guy, then he won't be calling Langley for help!"

"Was his boss really the one who blinded him?"

"Who cares, as long as he believes that. I had him in the palm of my hand."

Auggie felt himself shaking with rage for the second time today. He shoved the emotions away though and kept himself cool and detached; here was more to hear.

"So, when will Mercer be here?" asked Marco.

"He should be here within the hour," answered Valmor. "Poor Mercer; once he sees Annie in the state she is in, he will be forced to give us the location of the nuclear cache."

"Are you sure he really loves her that much?" asked Marco. "I mean, she loves him that much, but do you think he'd turn over his most valuable resource for just anybody?"

"Wouldn't you for your true love? Besides, that girl's got it in the bag. Did you really look at that agent who came to rescue her? He's in love with her too!"

"Oh, I know," Marco agreed. "She's certainly got something, alright. She is however, getting much weaker. Perhaps we should give her some of the antidote now; if Ben Mercer is delayed any longer, she may not live to be the bargaining chip we had hoped for."

Valmor sighed. "You're right," he said, "as he has been delayed three times, we cannot afford to be too careful. But we have got to hurry this deal along; by now Washington must be getting suspicious. You're government isn't searching for you as well are they?"

"No," Marco replied. "They don't expand manpower to search for dead bodies. What a switch on my government this will be! I serve them faithfully for many, many years and they take away my pension and my retirement for a simple infraction of the rules!"

"Dating an enemy spy is not a simple infraction, my friend," Valmor said with a laugh. "So, your embezzlement was a lie too as well?"

"If I had enough money to be living like a king for the rest of my life forty times over, why do you think I would be desperate enough to partner with you and try to secure the nuclear arms? What a lucky break for me that I was in the right place at the right time to see it all go down four years ago! With the money from the arms that we will eventually acquire, I will actually be able to retire like a king. And you will too, my friend!"

Valmor was silent for a moment, and then spoke in a low, almost dangerous voice. "It is well for you that you were my best childhood friend," Valmor stated. "Would you not have had a plan, I would have shot you on sight as a traitor!"

"Did I not make sure you were kept safe from all the raids and busts?" Marco countered. "Did I not take care of you like I promised I would? Yes, I have spent my days serving your enemy, but I have seen the error of my ways. They took a lifetime of service and just threw it in the drain, and spat in my face. They left me with no money at all. I could go be a waiter in a restaurant for the rest of my life, or I could use the last helpful bit of information I had to get on ahead. I chose to share it with you, my friend. Our friendship has never broken. And now, I need your help in hiding me from the government. Sure, they think I am dead now, but if Mercer doesn't get here fast, sooner or later they will send in an agent to find the girl. And believe me, it won't be some half-crazed lovesick whelp with a crush and an Indiana Jones obsession. It will be someone very experienced and very deadly."

Valmor must have agreed silently, for the men were quiet so long Auggie wondered if they had gone. Then, Auggie heard Marco take a deep breath. "So, the girl? Do you have the medicine with you?"

"It is here, in my desk," Valmor replied. "Let's let her wait a couple more hours; as I said, Mercer should be here within the hour."

"Yes, we've heard that one before," laughed Marco. Together, the men stood and walked out the door.

Auggie waited until the sounds of their footsteps had vanished, and then waited some more. Finally, when he was convinced no one was near, Auggie unlocked himself. He practically howled in pain, for his muscles had locked while he was waiting for Marco and Valmor to be finished. Hastily (for his muscles were shaking), Auggie lowered himself into the open window. He swung a little to build up some momentum, and let go of the vines. The result was a graceless but sufficient entrance into the room; Auggie landed on the tile floor and automatically rolled. He skidded to a quick halt without making much noise, and after a moment's pause to regain his composure, he was up and digging through Valmor's desk.

Auggie felt a grim satisfaction take hold of him while he went on his search for Annie's medicine. So Marco was dirty, after all. The thought didn't surprise him, though it made him angry. What especially enraged Auggie was everyone's persistence in believing that he was a useless agent; being blind did not make him useless! Then, suddenly, Joan's voice seemed to break through his thoughts.

"Use their ignorance to your advantage," she seemed to say. Auggie nodded in agreement, amused that Joan had become one of his inner voices. But why not? Joan had been one of the only people in charge who believed that Auggie could be of some good after his accident. Now, if Joan knew about all that was going on, (besides having a heart attack) she'd probably be rooting for Auggie too. When they got back, she would fire him, though. Auggie grinned at the prospect of getting back; he'd stand in front of a firing squad if that meant getting Annie home safely.

His anger somewhat assuaged, Auggie continued to root around in Valmor's desk; suddenly coming across several bottles that sounded like they contained pills. "Damn it," he muttered angrily. "Of course there has to be several bottles!" Then, Auggie heard a loud click as the door latch turned. The door began to creak open, and Auggie felt his heart stop in dismay. There was nowhere to hide!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **Hi! Not too bad of an ending today, for all of you who want to kill me now. The story is nearing its end; I'm thinking maybe four or five more chapters, so please hang in there with me. Glad you've all enjoyed reading it this far!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Covert Affairs characters.

Auggie settled for standing clear of the desk, a letter opener he found in the desk drawer becoming his weapon. He would be seen as soon as the door opened fully, but he could lunge at the intruder and have the element of surprise. Ever so slowly, the door creaked open, and Auggie heard lighter sounding footfalls on the tile floor. They did not sound like Marco's or Valmor's, and it made him hesitate. Suddenly, he heard a feminine gasp, and a woman's voice cried out "No, no senor please!"

Auggie blinked; he remembered that voice! "Marisol?" he said after a moment.

"Yes, I am Marisol. What are you doing out of your room?"

Auggie flicked his letter opener carelessly, hoping to create the illusion of a menacing killer. "You can't make me go back. I am getting my partner's medicine, and we're getting out of here."

Marisol asked a quiet, trembling question. "How will you know what the medicine is if you cannot see to read?" she asked.

Auggie frowned. "Perhaps you will tell me," he said, still trying to sound menacing. But he was loosing heart; Marisol was old, and he felt like he was acting like a great big bully. But then Marisol came up to the desk and surprised him.

"That was my intention too," she replied, rooting around in the desk. "Although I am not sure what to look for, perhaps you can help me. I have spoken with Tomas, and he has agreed to drive you to Rio Branco tonight. Once you get to America, tell your bosses and have them bust Valmor."

"Why are you telling me all this?" asked Auggie, suspicious of any more help.

"It is for the sake of my own son," she replied after a beat. "Emilio works in the fields with the men now, so you wouldn't have heard him. But we... well, we are just servants. We work here to earn a living. When I began living here, I thought no different of the circumstances. Then, later I learned about Valmor's secret dealings. All of us know, but we are servants. We have no place and no position except among our own. To betray our employer is an evil thing! There is not one big boss who does not line his pockets with money and creates trouble for the government. But I know what it is like when these bosses are taken out. The servants get caught in the middle. The boss shields himself with his laborers, and they gladly take up the guard for loyalty to their master. Then, when he goes down we _all_ go down. No sir! For the sake of my son, and the sake of my friends who are like family, I have decided to make a stand!"

Auggie grinned and put the letter opener down. "You're the informant?" he confirmed.

"Yes, senor, I am the "informant." I first tell our own government of all the trouble we had, hoping that they would send a team to destroy Valmor's kingdom. They did nothing. I tried to call other places, but none came. Finally, I call on America for help, and they send me a traitor and a young agent that didn't even have a chance. What am I to do?"

Auggie nodded in sympathy, then headed back to the desk. "Can you please help me find the medicine I need?" he asked politely. "If Mercer is really to be here within the hour, then I need to give Annie her first dose and have her hidden away."

"Why is that, senor?"

"If Mercer is anything like a normal agent, he won't be coming for a visit until he is sure he can escape safely if everything is a trap. He's expecting to see Annie on her deathbed, but if he does not see her, he will figure it is a trap and will leave. The weapons location will remain unknown for now, but that's something our own government will deal with."

"You are very lucky then that I am so smart. I had Tomas go up to your room and take Annie down to the kitchen. He was supposed to get you too, and I was to bring back the medicines. But even so, we must be quick. If Mercer is to be here soon, than Valmor will soon know of our plot." Marisol began rummaging trough the desk, pulling out various bottles of medicine. "Senor," she said after a moment, "I cannot read these. Many of them are American, and are hard even to recognize let alone pronounce."

Auggie bit his lip in frustration. "Can you spell English?" he asked. "I mean, do you know English lettering?"

"Yes, I do!" Marisol replied. "Let's see, the first one is 'I-b-u-p-r-o-"

"Ibuprofen," Auggie replied. "Just read the orange bottles, if there are any. White ones will be generic medicines."

"How do you know what the colors are in here if you are blind?"

"I used to be able to see, and I grew up with American medicines. Now, the next is..."

"H-y-d-r-o-c-o M-a-l-l-i-n-c-k-r-o."

"That's a type of Vicodin, I think."

"A-v-e-l-o-x"

"Think that's a antibiotic."

"L-e-v-a-q-u-i-n"

"Um, put that one off to the side, I have no idea what that is."

"Okay. Next is P-r-u-s-s-i-a-n B-l-u-e."

"Prussian Blue!" exclaimed Auggie. "So it's a medicine! What is it used for?"

"I do not know," Marisol replied. "Is this the medicine we are looking for?"

Auggie thought back on Annie's claims that only Prussian Blue would help. Annie knew everything that was going on, and even if she wasn't coherent enough to tell him consciously, she told him unconsciously. He trusted her on this one. "Yes, that is the medicine we are looking for. Quick, tell me how much to give her. It should be under the name."

It seemed to take Marisol forever and a day, but she finally said victoriously, "One pill per day! It also says 500mg."

"Great!" Auggie shouted. "Marisol, you are a genius!" He took the pills from her.

"Shh! Do you want to draw the entire household? Come quick, we have barely enough time as it is," Marisol warned. Then, taking hold of Auggie's closest arm, Marisol began to run at a quick pace through the halls. It was extraordinarily hard to keep one's footsteps quiet on the tile, and Auggie understood how Marisol had been so quiet in approaching the door; she had no shoes on. Quickly, they ducked down corridors and made several sharp turns up and down stairs. Auggie felt like he were in a demented roller coaster, and he couldn't wait until the coaster came to a stop. Finally, they chugged through the last door. Marisol stopped, spun around, and shut the door with a loud bang.

Without all the women in the kitchen, it seemed awfully big and cavernous. Every little sound echoed off the walls, and an already tense Auggie flinched all the more every time he heard a sound. Marisol spoke to Tomas from somewhere in the room in hurried, hushed tones. Then, Tomas ran out of the kitchen.

"He has gone to get the truck," Marisol explained. "Hurry, your Annie is over here!" Marisol grabbed Auggie's arm once more, and he felt himself flung in the direction of the door. Marisol shoved him down once he had regained his balance, and Auggie found himself kneeling next to Annie. Quickly, he opened the medicine bottle and poured out one big blue pill. He closed the bottle again and put it in his zippered pocket (which was getting quite full). Not wasting a moment, Auggie grabbed Annie around the shoulders and lifted her up into an almost sitting position. Marisol brought a glass of water and placed it next to Auggie. Auggie opened Annie's mouth and shoved the pill back as far as it could go into her throat. Then, he grabbed the water and poured a small bit of it into her mouth.

Annie was still semi-conscious enough to swallow, and while they waited for the truck, Auggie pumped as much liquid as he could into her. As they waited, Marisol gathered up blankets and anything they might need to make the journey back to Rio Branco. "What's taking Tomas so long?" she fretted. Then, suddenly, all hell broke loose.

"BLAM! BLAM! BlamBlamBlamBlamBlam!" Bullets from a handgun spattered, and the top half of the house sounded like it was in a war zone. Screams came from everywhere, and suddenly half of the household staff flooded the kitchen. Panicked cries in Portuguese filled the air, and occasionally Auggie would hear a "What happened?"

"Quick!" shouted Marisol's voice, the only calm one in the pandemonium. "Get against the wall. It is right behind you!"

Auggie scooted himself along the floor, dragging Annie along with him.

"Lay back. HURRY!"

Auggie laid back, and he felt Marisol shove Annie beside him. Suddenly, Auggie felt the scratchy wool of blankets being stretched out on top of him. When he was fully covered, he felt much more weight be pressed atop him; Marisol was dumping out baskets of clothing on them. Auggie lifted up the blanket a little to get some air in, and listened to the panic of the people. Suddenly, he heard another blast from a pistol, and Valmor entered the kitchen. It was deathly still.

"We have a guest," Valmor sneered, "Called 'Ben Mercer'. He is not to be helped in any way!" A string of Portuguese followed, and here and there someone wailed in reaction to the words. At this point, Auggie was glad he couldn't speak Portuguese. Suddenly, another pair of footsteps entered from the back door. They passed right by Auggie, and Auggie did his very best not to breathe.

"Valmor!" Marco cried. "Mercer got away! He stole one of your trucks; Tomas said he was driving it into the garage for the night when Mercer leaped in front of him. He was forced to come to a stop, and Mercer hijacked the truck. He'll be half on his way to Rio Branco by now, or anywhere else he stashed his transportation."

"Damn it!" Valmor cried. "We had him here! Right here! And somehow, under our very noses, the girl disappears and so does the blind one! How can this have happened?" Suddenly, Valmor's tone became deadly. "One of you must have helped them. Someone here is a traitor!"

The people glanced at each other, terrified. "YOU!" shouted Valmor, and through the crowd, Auggie heard the protesting voice of Tomas be brought up. "Why were you putting the truck back so late?"

"Senor, it is only ten! We had some people way in the far field today!"

"And you did not make them walk, as usual? LIAR! All eyes on me, let me show you how Valmor deals with traitors and liars!"

Suddenly, Auggie heard a pistol shot slice through the air, and a thump followed a few seconds later. "TOMAS!" screamed Marisol, and about half a dozen other people.

"Mercer is gone to us!" cried out Marco. "Once he saw that we did not have Annie like he thought we did, he cleared out."

"We sent him a recording!" cried out Valmor. "It should have been enough; then we could have just killed her. But no, you said he would be more cooperative if he saw her in person!"

"I didn't know he'd walk in carrying a bomb on him!"

"Pretty easy to let him get away then!"

"Stop!" Marco shouted. "Listen, let's get the two agents back! We can at least ransom them back to their own government!"

"Right. However, when we get them we break both their legs so they won't be able to run. You hear this, my servants? If you find either agent among you, break their legs!" Another steady stream of Portuguese followed, and then Valmor went out. Marco stomped through the back door again, and all that was left in the kitchen were sobbing servants.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **This story has been so much fun to write! Thank you so much for all the reviews; there are so many it is difficult to thank each one of you individually so I'll thank you collectively. Only about four more chapters now; but don't worry, I still have some surprises up my sleeve. Hope you all enjoy, and thanks again!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Covert Affairs.

Auggie clutched Annie protectively; there was no telling what these people would do now that one of their own had been killed for helping them. Slowly, the sobs lessened, and the people began to shuffle out of the room. Auggie breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed as though they were to be forgotten. Then, suddenly the weight on the blanket lessened and air flooded into the hiding space. The blanket was yanked off next, and Auggie felt the muggy air wash over him.

"What do we do with them?" a harsh voice asked.

"Perhaps we break their legs, like the master said!"

"Or we avenge Tomas' death on them!"

"Silencio!" Marisol's voice cut through the voices of the few people left in the room. "Should Tomas have died in vain?" she asked. "Should his memory be left in vengeance by his friends and family? NO! If we kill these ones, more of their people will come. And do you think they will spare the servants? Do you think they will spare the ones that assisted our master in killing their people?"

Silence followed while the people thought. Marisol waited a moment, then continued on. "No, they won't spare us. The only way for our families to be safe is for us to help these two get home. If they do not send word about us, then our families will die. But if we let them get home, then the others who will come will know what price we had to pay!"

The people were silent, then finally, a gruff voice asked, "How do we get them out of here?"

"The river dock is only five kilometers away," Marisol said after a moment. "Valmor is supposing that they will escape by driving out of here. But if we can sneak them to the Amazon River, then they can take a boat back to Rio Branco. It will be slower, but Valmor will not be suspecting it."

"And how do we get them to the river dock?" asked another person.

"We take them to the graves."

Auggie's heart was racing while Marisol outlined her plan. It was crazy; but it just might work! He found out that the rough voice belonged to Bernardo, who just happened to be a carpenter. Bernardo had made a stash of coffins a long while back when people were dying from a disease that swept through the hills. Now, he used these coffins up one by one on people who died from old age and from accidents. He did not have to use that many, and so he still had quite a stash. Marisol's plan was to take one of the larger coffins and make a false bottom for it. They could stick Annie and Auggie into the bottom, and lay Tomas on top of them. Then, Bernardo and all of Tomas' friends could go out to "bury" him, and let Annie and Auggie out when they got there. Bernardo would take them to the docks in the truck while the funeral was going on, then would come back and pick up the mourners. They would arrive back normally, and no one would know the difference.

Auggie had to admit it was a brilliant plan. It reminded him of some of Annie's plans; creative and inventive. It would take a while to implement, though, and so everyone feverishly got to work. The kitchen girls ran out, a couple at a time, to Bernardo's shop to get him the tools he needed. A few men also left and came back with a fairly splintery coffin. Bernardo set to work creating his masterpiece in the kitchen; since the kitchen light was always on there would be no questions asked. (Valmor would investigate if the light to the woodshop was on at night.) Auggie and Annie were relocated to the cellar and were hidden behind several sacks of dried beans.

"Try to get some sleep," Marisol suggested. "I will wake you when it is time to leave."

Auggie got into a comfortable position and made sure Annie was as comfortable as she could be beside him. Her pulse had steadied since the medicine, and her breathing sounded much better. It felt like days since Auggie had arrived, but when he reflected on it, it had been less than twenty four hours! Still, Auggie was beat, and during the night's wait that followed, Auggie allowed himself to relax and to slip into slumber.

The dream that followed was very... strange. Auggie dreamed that he and Annie were out in the rainforest, walking along a well-tended path. The verdant green around him was refreshing to see, and the smells of rotting plants and moisture were strangely soothing. Even the constant cacophony of birds seemed serene. Annie walked along beside him, her smooth, warm hand resting in his. The sun glinted like shards of gold in her hair, and her eyes were full of joy. But it was difficult to see her; she appeared fuzzy, and as Auggie looked around he noticed that the world was mostly colors, not well defined.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, glad to see that she was looking somewhat coherent.

"Much, _much_ better," Annie said.

Auggie's heart leaped for joy at the strength in her voice; she was getting better! "What happened to you?" Auggie asked after a moment, "if you know?"

Annie sighed. "I was poisoned with a heavy metal called Thallium. It's odorless and tasteless. It's also called the 'Poisoner's Poison' and 'Inheritance Powder'."

"Seems like you know a lot about it," Auggie commented.

Annie laughed a little. "You can thank the 'Smithsonian' for that," she said. "I only know about it because of a paint pigment they used in the seventeen hundreds called 'Prussian Blue.' It turns out to be the antidote for Thallium. I'll need several more doses of medicine, but I shouldn't have any lasting effects. After all, I wasn't poisoned over too long a time. But I am DONE with simple missions!"

Auggie couldn't help himself; he laughed out loud. "Simple! Simple shouldn't even be in your vocabulary!" He sighed, and moved a little closer to her, content just to be with her. "I won't be seeing you like this anymore," Auggie stated after a moment. "You're already fading. My dreams will be dark again, and all I'll have left of you is the touch of your hand, the sound of your voice, and the smell of your grapefruit perfume."

Annie sighed sadly. "I don't even know what I'll be able to remember," she said. "Auggie, you _will_ tell me everything when we wake up, right?"

Auggie chuckled. "If I told you everything I did on this trip, I'd be through. Finished! Joan'd fire me!"

Annie's smile returned. "I am _not_ Joan," she replied. "And I think you have to be one of the most amazing people I have ever known. Auggie, thank you for everything that you have done for me." With that, Annie turned to face him. They leaned into one another.

Auggie couldn't care that his vision had begun to fade; he was right about to kiss the woman of his dreams! Then, a bone chilling scream came from the forest. Something charged at Auggie, drawing blood. He heard Annie screaming in the background and felt himself hit the ground, the whatever-it-was ending up on top of him.

Auggie woke in a panic, feeling as if he were cursed. Annie groaned beside him; he had probably smacked her when he dreamed he was strangling with the monster. He did a quick vitals check on her and was happy to notice that she had improved greatly over the night; she was bordering on the edge of consciousness. He was just about ready to start estimating how much time they had left to wait when Marisol entered the cellar.

"It is ready," she said without preamble.

Auggie slid out from under Annie and stood, his stiff muscles screaming. Another pair of footsteps and the smell of sawdust told him that Bernardo was there. Wordlessly, Bernardo walked over to them and lifted Annie up. Marisol followed suit by grabbing Auggie's arm, and together the foursome headed back upstairs to the kitchen. Once inside, Auggie was led to a coffin. He climbed in and stretched out in it, feeling particularly tall. Annie was lowered beside him. The false bottom was then put on. Auggie felt extremely squished. He tried to keep Annie's head from resting on the hard wood by letting her sprawl across his shoulder, but the false bottom did not have much room at all and was certainly not designed for comfort. Finally, Tomas was laid on top.

The people had a short but sweet funeral. Prayers and hymns were said and sung, and several Catholic burial customs were hastily observed. It was well into morning by the time Tomas' friends had lifted the heavy coffin into another truck, and from the sounds of the distant yelling and running all around, Marco and Valmor were still hunting their victims. Bernardo got in the front of the truck and started it up, the pallbearers alongside the coffin in the back, riding along so that they could help dig up the grave.

Valmor stopped them only once along the way to the graves, and in a commanding, threatening voice he asked to see inside the coffin. Thanks to Bernardo's handiwork, Valmor only saw Tomas in the coffin, and soon the burial party was on it's way.

"Now is where is gets hard," Bernardo stated after they left Valmor's immediate vicinity. "Now is the getting home part."

Auggie couldn't agree with him more.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: **Thanks again to those who have been reviewing. Only a couple of chapters left to go, but stay with me please. This is so much fun to do. Unfortunately for me, they explained away everything in Sri Lanka in last night's two-parter. That makes this story somewhat AU, but at least Jai was his handler!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Covert Affairs and yada ya.

They reached the graves without incident. Bernardo and his friends helped pull Auggie and Annie out, then began digging the grave. Annie still was struggling unconsciously through the effects of her poisoning, so Auggie propped himself up in the back bed of the truck and let her use him as a pillow. Bernardo got into the cab of the truck and slid the back window open so they could talk as he drove.

"It is about two of your miles to the river," Bernardo stated as they drove away from the graves on what had to be the world's bumpiest, muddiest road. "Once you get there, the boats work like busses. You pay your passage and are given a hammock to rest in while the boat continues down the river. When you reach your stop, you exit and continue on the way. They are very simple to ride."

"Thank you," Auggie said after a moment.

Bernardo was silent for so long Auggie thought the conversation was over. But just as he was about to say something to break the silence, Bernardo said, "You really love that girl, don't you?"

Auggie did a quick check to make sure that Annie was still unconscious, then answered a simple "yes."

Bernardo chuckled. "So, why have you not told her then?"

Auggie frowned. "There are others who she likes better than me," he said at last. "Ben Mercer for one, and another who has the looks and the power and who is not just seen as 'cute'."

"You want some advice my friend?" Bernardo rhetorically asked. "Tell her. You've done a lot for her saving her like this, but it won't mean a thing unless you tell her your feelings. Women aren't like us men; they don't see life like us. You may have moved the world for them, but you have to tell them about it."

Auggie scowled, annoyed. "What are you, the love guru?"

"No, I'm just smarter than you," Bernardo laughed. "Women like the strong man. You may have filled the role of the 'friend' in the past, but once you saved her, you moved into the big leagues. If you love her, you'll..."

Suddenly, one of the truck tires blew. The truck skidded to a stop (though it wasn't going to terribly fast so it was not a big deal for Annie and Auggie). Bernardo let out a string of frustrated Portuguese and climbed out of the cab. Auggie had heard the tire blow, but it sounded strange in his head; as if the sound had echoed _before_ it happened. He listened with all his might and sniffed the air; the breeze brought to him the scent of water and fish. They must be near the dock. He caught a strange whiff of another familiar scent as well... gun blast.

"Ohh!" With a terrible groan and a sickening thud, Bernardo's steady stream of words ceased.

The rainforest was the most terrible place Auggie could think of to be right now. The constant yammering of the forest made it impossible for Auggie to single out a footstep. He stood up in the back of the truck, and he felt as if he were alone on a small raft in the middle of a sea of sharks. Suddenly, the car jolted, and a menacing chuckle pierced through the blackness on Auggie's right.

Auggie kept his balance and turned to the right, but he knew his assailant would have moved on. Suddenly, the truck jolted from the left, and Auggie turned a one-eighty. It jolted from the hood next, the assailant chuckling all the time. Auggie knew he was being toyed with. He kept his voice low and (he hoped) deadly.

"Have you nothing better to do with your time than terrorize a blind guy?" he asked toughly.

A full laugh followed; Marco's laugh. "Oh, I don't terrorize people," he said, his voice mimicking sincerity. "But you, _you_ are a different case. You took away my retirement, and you deserve what you get."

"Well, the whole thing is your fault. If you hadn't have made up those crazy stories and lied to me, I wouldn't have tried to escape. Why did you lie, anyway?"

Marco guffawed. "Don't you know that every perfect lie has a grain of truth in it?" he asked. "It's best to mix up truth and lies; then you can manipulate anyone well. But what is the truth and what is the lie? That'll be a mystery you could have solved, had you lived long enough."

"Who are you to think that Ben Mercer'd tell you anything anyway," Auggie asked, trying to keep Marco's mind off of killing him. "He lied before to Annie; he's even double crossed her! Who are you to think he'd tell you everything; he would have given you the slip. As it was, did he not come prepared? From what I heard, he brought a bomb with him to insure his escape."

That last bit was the wrong thing to say. Marco's voice went from borderline psychopath to deadly. "You were in the kitchen last night," he stated quietly, angrily. "No more games."

Auggie heard Marco back up, then disappear into the sounds of the rainforest. Auggie fumbled for his camping knife that was in his pocket. He quickly unzipped the zipper, seized the knife, zipped back his zipper so he wouldn't loose Annie's medicine, and flipped his knife open. He stood in knife fighting stance, his back to the cab, feeling like a piece of prey. "I wish I could see!" he screamed frustratedly in his mind; when his senses were jammed by everything else, he felt he was not only blind but deaf as well. Panic started to grip him, and he whipped his head from right to left, hoping to hear something. "Come on already!" he yelled out into the forest. "Get it over with!"

Auggie felt Annie stir at his feet; she sounded as though she were waking. "Please, stay asleep," Auggie murmured. The last thing he needed was Annie waking and asking what was going on. Gently, he scooted her over to the side of the truck, so she would be out of the way of the brawl... if there was one. "COME ON!" Auggie shouted.

Suddenly, the truck jolted. Marco had charged it from the front and vaulted over the cab. Auggie felt two mud-slicked boots plant into his back, and Auggie went down. WHAM! He smacked his head against the tailgate, and his thoughts began to swim. He was conscious of his knife flying away, and conscious of a laughing, maniacal agent pummeling him mercilessly from the sky. "I've lost," he realized as he feebly tried to defend himself. To his credit, he did deal back one blow, but that only made his attacker pin him down, his hand grasping Auggie's throat and cutting off his air.

"Now, you will die!" said Marco gleefully, and Auggie felt everything shutting down.

Then, it was as if a miracle happened. The weight was lifted from him, and Auggie could breathe once more. "I am DONE being strangled," he coughed. His head was still ringing from the first crash on the tailgate, and Auggie wondered if he'd have a concussion. Auggie knitted his brows in confusion then; how had he escaped? Marco didn't just let him go of his own volition. Auggie sat up, and put his hand directly of something warm, sticky, metallic-smelling, and undeniably blood. "Ah!" he yelped in surprise. "Annie? Annie! What happened?"

Suddenly, Auggie felt a hand grab his arm. "Auggie, calm down," Annie said tiredly. "It's okay; I'm right here!"

Auggie looked in the direction of the voice, and reached out his non-bloody hand. His fingers felt for her face, and he relaxed as he felt her smile. "Annie, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "I'm feeling blood..."

"I'm okay, just tired. Auggie, what on earth are you doing here? I wake up to find myself in the back of a pickup truck with that traitor Marco effectively strangling you."

Auggie smiled as comprehension dawned on him. "You're my miracle," he whispered.

Annie's smile could be heard in her voice. "I saw him strangling you, and I saw a knife, so I just... well... be glad you can't see. It isn't pretty here."

Auggie sat up, his head swimming, but he was grateful he had no vision to worry about. "Is he dead?" Auggie asked.

"If he isn't, he will be in a couple of minutes. I kind of stabbed him... well... at the base of the skull."

"Nice," Auggie deadpanned. He stood up and felt the truck sway below him. "Is that just me, or did you stand up?"

"I stood up. Auggie, what on earth is going on? Why are you here?"

"I'll explain in a while," Auggie replied. "Right now, we have to get to the river as fast as possible. It's about three fourths of a mile ahead. You've got to trust me, Annie."

Annie gently replied, "I do trust you, Auggie. You've always been on my side."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note**: Just a few more chapters after this one. Hang on to your hats; we're not there yet. Thanks for the great reviews!

**Disclaimer: **Covert Affairs does not belong to me.

For a fleeting moment, Auggie and Annie considered changing the tire on their own. They had seen to Bernardo, and had discovered that he was (to their relief) only knocked out. Auggie and Annie dragged him to some shade, and set out to fix the car. Annie was extremely weak, though, and without the added strength of adrenaline could barely lift herself up (let alone a forty pound tire). Auggie was having a hard time getting his limbs to work in a coordinated manner (the inevitable result of his head injury). They soon gave up their efforts in favor of walking; for the river was only about three fourths of a mile ahead.

For someone in good condition, three-fourths of a mile would take five to ten minutes to walk. But Annie and Auggie were not in good condition, and neither was the road. The road was filled with mud from the daily rain, and for every step they trudged it took twice as much effort to pull their feet out. Annie was barely conscious, and was more or less hanging onto Auggie in order to stay upright instead of "leading" him. Auggie was having trouble making his arms and legs work well, and with the added weight of Annie and the ever present mud, Auggie felt like he was slowly sinking. It took them the better part of an hour to reach the river, and by the time their feet hit the wooden boards of the dock, they were spent.

Annie half collapsed onto the deck, throwing herself onto the boards as if they were the world's softest bed. She passed out immediately, and Auggie had to wait for the boat by himself.

Those few hours were the hardest Auggie ever spent. He was fighting to stay awake, for the concussion that had claimed his coordination also threatened him with coma and death if he too fell asleep. So, Auggie walked up and down the boards of the dock. He heard several boats go by, but few of them were motor boats. Most were rowboats and canoes, and the people aboard were very friendly. Auggie didn't lack anyone to speak with for long; one old canoe paddler warned him of the piranhas that lived under the dock (it seemed Valmor fed the nasty creatures), another man explained what to do when the bus boats came by, and still another man rowed by just to say high (though he spoke very limited English). Auggie could feel the air starting to cool; sunset was coming. The boat would be around shortly. Feeling better and more coordinated after his hours of forced wakefulness, Auggie walked back down the short dock and gently shook Annie.

"Annie," he said as he felt her stir. "Annie, you need to wake up; the boat will be here soon, and you need to be able to get on it by your own power so we don't look suspicious. Besides, it's time to take your medicine."

Whether or not all that processed was hard to tell, but Annie did swallow her pill obediently. As they sat there waiting, Auggie filled Annie in on various details on what happened while she was out. For her sake, he left out the whole Ben Mercer saga until he was sure that she was fully recovered. He left out the dreams too, not knowing what to say there. But he did tell her of his "mission;" his traveling to Rio Branco by plane, acting like a college beggar out in the streets, and being nearly strangled by a boa. When he finally got around to the part where he had daringly stolen Annie's medicine, Annie mumbled, "I told you I needed Prussian Blue. Marco poisoned me with Thallium."

Auggie nodded. "You told me that; the part about the Thallium, I mean. But how exactly did you get in that position? You had regular check-ins with Langley."

Annie sighed tiredly. "Well, first off we got here, and we checked in. Nothing was suspicious there. Marco and Sanchez acted like old friends, but I figured that was the way the operation was supposed to run. Marco then told me that he was going to "take me hostage" in order to win Sanchez's trust. When we called Langley, he was always telling me to "keep it simple," "cut it off, etc." Sanchez played along like a pro. Marco led me to believe we were going to bag him, but I started to get suspicious. I called you "August," on the last communication, hoping that you would think I was in trouble. That night during dinner I got my first dose of poison. I got so sick, you wouldn't believe. After that, things go fuzzy. The first night Marco told me some of his real plan; I was to be a bargaining chip for someone who had knowledge of nuclear arms (but who I don't know). Marco also told me that I was poisoned with Thallium, and he explained to me what would happen to my body. I think he did _that_ just to terrorize me. After that, one day was pretty much like the next. You know, I have no idea how long I have been out! And when did you get out here?"

Auggie smiled. "I got out here when you stopped eating," he replied.

"Wow, that soon? I thought you were with me longer," Annie said sleepily. "But Auggie, you know what?" Annie laid her head on Auggie's shoulder. Auggie felt his heart leap, but managed to keep his cool.

"What?" he asked.

"You are an amazing person, Auggie Anderson. Thank you for coming to rescue me."

Auggie smiled at her, but suddenly was feeling wary. This scene reminded him too much of his last dream; the dream where suddenly a creature would pop out of the forest and...

Auggie heard Annie scream, but it didn't register before a creature with sharp teeth and dull claws pounced on top of him. The snarling, snapping thing growled menacingly, and now Auggie could place the creature from his last dream- it was a dog!

"Bravo, bravo Cesar!" shouted the familiar and unwanted voice of Valmor. "All day long my household and I search for you, and all day long we find nothing. So, I said to myself 'Why are you being so stupid? Have you not the blind one's cane? Can you not use your hunting dog to find him?' So, I let the dog sniff your cane, and where does that lead me? Right to where you and your girlfriend are eagerly awaiting the evening boat. And I came just in time."

Valmor snapped his fingers, and the snarling dog backed off. It was still barking and growling, though. A few seconds later, a heavy stick landed near Auggie. Auggie felt around, and his hand closed on his walking stick that he had been using as a cane. Auggie heard the sound of a rifle being cocked; he cringed as Annie shouted out and made a feeble attack at Valmor. Because she was so terribly weak, she was batted off as easily as a fly, and in a moment Annie was silent again and Valmor had re-cocked his gun.

"The evening boat doesn't stop if there is no one standing on the dock waiting for it. Well, they will not even find a trace of you, my friend; for I noticed there are piranhas under this bridge. They are very convenient for me; I like to leave no trace of my victims. My piranhas serve me well; I feed them every day, and so they come by every day. Did you know that a group of piranhas can strip a cow of it's flesh in thirty seconds? Imagine what they will do to you, my friend."

Valmor brought the rifle up to his shoulder; Auggie heard the shoulder strap slide. "Get up," Valmor commanded. "Get up and start walking. To the edge of the dock. NOW!"

Auggie got to his feet, his arms wobbling from his grip on his walking stick. Suddenly, he had an idea! It was a crazy idea, but Auggie would be dead either way, and Annie would soon join him if he didn't do something. Quick as he could muster (which was actually pretty fast) Auggie swept up his stick and belted Valmor right across the mouth as hard as he could. Auggie didn't exactly know where on Valmor's body he was aiming; he just hoped to knock Valmor's gun out of the way. Instead, Providence shone on him, for instead of knocking just Valmor's gun to the side, he knocked _Valmor_ over the side.

Valmor cried out in surprise and terror as he fell over the edge of the dock into the river. Auggie's eyes widened as he heard the terrifying sound of a hundred piranhas tear apart a human being. Though he was extremely blessed now for not having sight, the surprised screams of Valmor would stay in his memory forever.

The boat bus came a half hour later. By that time, there wasn't enough of Valmor left to bury let alone be noticed. The boat pulled up to the dock, and Auggie helped a once-again-conscious Annie into the boat. He still had to bring her home no matter what, and they weren't there yet.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: **Hi, all! Short chapter; term papers are beginning to accumulate. We are close to the end, one more chapter after this, so please keep reading. After the intensity of chapter thirteen, though, I figured the story was entitled to a little fluff. Enjoy, and thanks for all the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **The show and the characters are not mine (drat!).

Fortunately, the ride on the bus boat was uneventful. Auggie and Annie stumbled onto the boat barely conscious, but Auggie gave the correct fare, and since the hammocks strung across the boat acted like bus seats, Auggie and Annie could sleep. The bus was crowded, and so Auggie and Annie had to share a hammock, but Annie didn't mind; she was still fairly ill from her poisoning and was glad she had someone watching her back.

They both slept through the night, and early in the morning reached Rio Branco. Wearily, they departed, and headed for the main part of the city. After Annie asked a few directional questions in perfect Portuguese, they were on their way to the airport. Once in the general vicinity, though, Auggie suggested they rent a hotel room.

"Let's stay here another night," Auggie determined. "You don't have a passport anyway, and so you'll have to call Jai for an extraction team. It'll take a lot of explaining, so you need to take some time to come up with a decent story on how you escaped."

Annie was concentrating too hard on walking and looking normal to answer just then, but once they were situated in a room near the airport, Annie asked, "So, why not just tell the truth?"

Auggie laughed and sat down on one of the twin beds in the room. "The truth? If Joan knew I came to rescue you, she'd fire me in a heartbeat. I've gone rogue too many times in my past to be trusted." Auggie paused, feeling that another explanation other than self-preservation was due. "And besides," he stated after a moment, "if I get fired, who will look after you? You have a curse on you or something; every time something should go simple or easy, the entire thing just comes falling down. But you amaze me; you're like a cat! You always get out of everything relatively unscathed. Even now, after a few months of recuperation, you'll be just as good as new! And Annie, I care about you too much to leave you to some other handler who won't know what to do when things go wrong. You see, I happen to..." Here, Auggie faltered and stopped speaking.

He could feel Annie's stare from halfway across the room. Silence began to ring loud in his ears. Finally, Auggie tried to break the silence with a shrug. "It's not fair that you're staring at me," he said after a moment. "I can't reciprocate." It was silent again, silent for so long that Auggie began to wonder if Annie had gone to sleep. Then, he heard her sigh.

"Auggie," she asked, "you happen to what?"

"What?" asked Auggie, confused.

"You said you happen to... what?"

Auggie sighed. Better tell her now and be honest, better be over and done with it. Though it practically killed him to say it, and though she would probably never think about him the same way again, Auggie took a deep breath and finished his earlier sentence. "I happen to love you."

Annie was silent again, and Auggie felt as if he had just made a huge mistake. But suddenly, Annie began to speak again, and Auggie felt as though he were hanging on to her every word.

"When I was lying in that room dying," Annie began. "I had the world's craziest dreams. I dreamed that I was calling out to everyone I knew and had feelings for. To my sister, I told her that I loved her and wished her goodbye. To Jai, I called for help. To Ben, I begged him and begged him to come back and rescue me, like a real hero would. And finally, I began to dream about you. Auggie, your dreams were different. You were actually _there_ with me, so it seemed. Of course, by then I was hallucinating, but I felt as though you were with me, giving me strength. I pleaded with you too to help me, and you did. Auggie, out of all the people I could choose to have feelings for, _you_ were the only one who felt like that back. Did Jai come to save me? Did Ben come? No. No, only you came, August Anderson."

Auggie winced inwardly when Annie stated that Ben did not come. Ben came, but he came too late. Auggie struggled with telling Annie this, but suddenly, things became rather clear; if Ben didn't come in time, that was his problem. Had not Marco said that Ben had been delayed three times? All is fair in love and war, and as far as Auggie was concerned, this was both!

Annie paused for a while longer, while Auggie resolved his guilt in not telling her about Ben. Finally, hoping to move the conversation forward, Auggie stated, "I _knew_ you were in trouble. Deep in my gut, I felt it. I didn't want you to be hurt, so... I took matters into my own hands. I know I'm a fool for doing that, and that I didn't follow protocol, but what was I supposed to do?"

Annie gave a light laugh. "If you had done everything you were supposed to do, I'd be dead by now and you'd be wrestling with the guilt of my death for the rest of your life! Auggie, what I'm trying to say is out of all the men who like me, only one was really there for me when I needed him. In fact, you have always been there for me when I need you; you are my hero, if you think about it! Auggie, I have been so lost and confused about love lately; I'm always attracted to the shallow guy or the guy who will use me then dump me. It's about time I became attracted to the nice guy."

Even though Auggie couldn't see, his eyes still opened wide in surprise. "You mean, you don't think it's strange that I love you?"

Annie was suddenly right beside him, and Auggie reached out for her, holding her frail body very gently. The two sat there for a time, just holding one another, and then Annie laid her head down on Auggie's shoulder. "I don't think it's strange at all," she replied simply.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note**: Hooray, after long last, the END! I hope you all enjoy. I know some of you might be annoyed at Annie's attitude toward Auggie, but Annie's character is very burnt over love, and I think a love for Auggie would have to grow, not explode into being (at least for her). But the start is here, and if you all enjoyed the story, I'll write another building on their budding romance. Thank you all so much for your reviews; you'll never know how happy it makes me feel that people are reading and enjoying my work (amateur as it is).

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Covert Affairs or the characters involved.

For the rest of the day, Annie slept curled up on one of the beds. Auggie, whose head was feeling much better, showered and made his way to the airport. Once inside, he went to his locker, where he reclaimed his suitcase full of the leftover money and his clothes. He then went back to the hotel to change into something respectable, and resolved to let Annie go shopping for something else to wear when she woke up (the white sundress she had been sporting was no longer white after all the mud, and it was splattered here and there with blood. Fortunately, the hotel manager had bought the whole fish story Annie had handed him about falling down on a rainforest tour.). Since Annie slept most of the day away, Auggie had had a lot of time to think. He spent most of his afternoon on a bench outside the hotel, letting the warm sunlight hit the sore areas of his back where Marco had booted him. "Women were so confusing," thought Auggie, "I hate the way they can make you feel everything is alright without giving you a definite answer for anything!"

True, Auggie had poured his heart out to Annie. But though Annie had been accepting of his feelings, she still had not said she felt the same back. Auggie knew that Annie had been through the fire with Ben, and with a cold shiver Auggie realized that, if Annie knew that Ben had really shown up, he wouldn't have a chance. But Auggie was finally in the league now; the Annie league. He was competing against Jai the Jerk and Ben the Burner. "The best thing to do," Auggie's common sense told him after a while, "is let her have some time to herself. Just watch over her, talk to her as always, take her out often, and find some special ways to let her know that... she is the sunrise of my world."

oOo

While Auggie was pondering outside the hotel, Annie had finally woken up and had taken a nice, warm shower. She tried to plan her extraction cover, but her head was still fuzzy, and it seemed that all she could think about was her conversation with Auggie. Auggie was a strange one; he was her greatest friend, and her greatest ally at the CIA. Plus, he truly cared for her well being. But so did Jai; Jai had saved her life more times than she could count. But then, there was something peculiar in the way Jai interacted with her; it was almost dangerous, in a way. It was as if Jai was a panther and Annie was the prey. Annie knew she had seen Jai way too many times before she joined the CIA, and as cute as he was, Annie knew he hid some dark secrets. Yet she couldn't help feeling a little drawn to him.

Ben was another odd one. When Annie had first met him, she had fallen _hard_. She hung on to every word he said, every promise he made, until the day he up and disappeared. Though it had only been two weeks, Annie felt as if a part of her soul had been ripped out. After two years of aimless wandering and a year or so at training, Annie had finally begun to let go. But there was no doubt he cast a shadow over her life still; Annie couldn't help seeing his face from time to time in the people that passed her by. Though all she wanted to do was let him go, she was still tied to him.

And then there was Auggie. Until now, Annie thought of Auggie as just a good friend. After learning of some of Auggie's romances, though, she had not considered him a potential candidate for dating. Therefore, Annie thought it was funny that Natasha could have made her so jealous. At the time, Annie had classified these feelings under the "concerned friend" category, but now... now Annie wasn't so sure. Annie scowled as she paced slowly around the hotel room, stretching out aching muscles. All these men soliciting for her attention made her confused and weary. "Am I the only woman left at the CIA?" she thought despairingly. The solution then came to her- take it slow. If Auggie was the one for her, she would see that in time. If not, then she wouldn't be risking all of her heart. But then, would she be asking Auggie to risk all of his?

oOo

When Auggie returned to the room, it was early evening. Annie was awake, if sounding perpetually tired, but she perked up when Auggie mentioned a "shopping trip." Together, the two made themselves presentable as possible (at least Auggie looked great; Annie looked as if she had been dragged through a swamp) and left for the more tourist parts of Rio Branco. The first mission they set about was to find Annie some new clothes. This mission was fairly easy though; Annie was small and could fit into a fair number of things. And though she liked showing style at work, she was not picky when it came to choosing from what was available. Soon, Annie had replaced her tattered and torn bloodstained sundress with a pair of loose flowing khaki pants, a plain light pink tee, and some new sandals.

Together, Annie and Auggie walked the friendly streets of Rio Branco. The city was a marvel; old buildings surrounded and supported by new ones. Parks opened up around every corner, letting in the surrounding rainforest. There were so many parks and open areas that it gave one the impression that the city was first planned to consist of tree houses. They walked the streets slowly, taking their time and often sitting down to rest on the various park's tuffy grasses. Annie found that she rather enjoyed the evening, and, though she and Auggie said nothing more of importance, she found that it was easy to sit closer to him. It was nice to rest her head against his, and it was peaceful just to be with him. There was none of the excitement she felt around Ben, or the flitting danger she felt around Jai, only silent strength. But Annie smiled inwardly as she snuggled closer; maybe silent strength was what she needed.

Auggie, meanwhile, was feeling weary yet slightly sad. Sometimes, he felt as though his blindness had given him second sight; he could not be fooled by a woman's quick smile and the assurances that everything was "fine." No, he could feel the uncertainty coming off Annie in waves. "She's afraid," Auggie thought sadly. "I made her afraid; she doesn't want to love again, at least not now. How could I have been so stupid to throw all this on her while she was barely managing to survive?"

As Auggie's worries multiplied, though, a strange reassurance seemed to calm his heart. He remembered something his father had said when Auggie had had his first serious girlfriend. "Give it time," his father had instructed. "A tree is not grown in a day, and neither is love. Things that are grown fast die fast, but things that grow slowly live for hundreds of years. That's the difference between a flower and a tree." Auggie nodded inwardly; it was good advice. His father had been a very wise man. And there, just sitting together, Annie and Auggie made a silent agreement to give each other time. For in that moment of clarity, Annie and Auggie had developed a trait that all couples seemed to have; the ability to understand what the other was feeling without the use of words.

oOo

Later that evening, after medicine was taken and food was eaten, Annie and Auggie got down to the serious business of explaining away the cover. He had come down prepared to fly Annie home, but without a passport Annie wouldn't be able to leave the country. Besides, it would be a little odd to have Annie just walk into Langley the next day when she was supposed to be with Marco in Sanchez's house. At first, Annie suggested an extraction team. But something made Auggie weary; maybe it was the fact that Jai would be leading the extraction team. Though Auggie scoffed at the idea that Jai was an Equalizer (that part _had_ to have been made up by Marco), he had made himself rather suspicious; trusting Marco to the letter and sending Annie in without further backup (although a GPS tracker would not have helped much, Auggie realized with chagrin). Then again, Joan was the one who set up the mission in the first place.

Or could it have been Arthur? Pretty coincidental that Joan was required to leave right when everything went down. Auggie remembered Arthur's secret conversation with him a while back; the one where Arthur told Auggie he did not want Joan implicated in anything. "He's shielding her," Auggie thought with a scowl. "Arthur knew that Annie would be in danger, and he didn't want his wife around. Also, the only other person from Arthur's department is Jai, who just _happened _to be overseeing the mission." Everything fell into place rather nicely, but why and what it meant, Auggie had no idea. He was just sure of one thing; he didn't want to leave Annie's side until she was back safe in her sister's house. "No extraction teams," was Auggie's final word on the matter.

Around midnight, Auggie and Annie hit a nice compromise. It didn't leave Auggie in the clear as much as he wanted to be, but if Auggie wanted to sit next to Annie on the plane ride home, it would have to be done. They rehearsed what they would say, and over and over again how to say it, until there were no flaws in their story. Then, exhausted, both crashed for the night.

oOo

The next morning, a very worn-and-harried sounding Annie called Langley with Auggie's untraceable phone. Thankfully, Bert picked up on her call right away. Overjoyed to hear from her, he patched her through to Joan, who had just made it back from the Pentagon interviews in time to watch her entire "Annie" crew go haywire.

"Marco was bad," Annie said flatly. "He holed me up in Sanchez's house and dosed me with a high level of Thallium. Fortunately, Sanchez's servants rebelled. They set me free, gave me the antidote, and saved my life."

"Why would they do that?" demanded Joan after expelling her relief that Annie was safe.

"They want their families to be safe," Annie replied. "All of them just want to get out of Sanchez's house without being implicated in anything that can tear their families apart."

"Well, that is very brave of them, considering that they are still servants in his house!"

"They have no reason to fear; both Sanchez and Marco are dead." Annie's voice wavered here, and Joan knew not to ask more until Annie had had time to recover.

"And the arms?" Joan asked briskly.

"Sanchez never had them in the first place. Apparently, he just wanted a bartering hostage with our government. If I looked like I bombed my cover, who would blame him for taking me hostage? Just a novice idiot who got herself in trouble. No one would be the wiser."

"They would if you were being sold back to us," Joan added grimly.

"I don't think they ever intended to let me live," Annie replied.

"So, where are you now?"

"Rio Branco, near the airport."

"I'll send in an extraction team..."

"Don't bother," Annie cut in. "If you could just call customs and get them to let me pass; I'll be able to get home. You see, I ran into a friend on vacation down here..."

oOo

Joan sat in her office glaring at Auggie, a major headache threatening to build up. Her two agents had gotten back (thankfully) without any further problems, and Annie had been confined to bed rest and mandatory hospital visits for a couple of weeks. However, the Thallium hadn't permeated her tissues, so she would be able to get back on active duty relatively soon. Joan almost smiled at the thought of Annie; she had done a decent job of getting herself out alive. If that's what really happened; Joan frowned as her doubts came back to her. As Joan looked across the room towards Auggie, she felt her frustration beginning to kindle again.

"You were supposed to be on _vacation_," Joan growled. "Remember, I told you that if you ever, _ever_ went rogue again I'd have to fire you!"

Auggie smiled innocently. "I didn't disregard what you said; I went on vacation. I even spent a couple of extra days off, like Jai asked."

"Then why, _why_ did you just happen to have two plane tickets for the trip back?" Joan groaned.

"Because, on the way back I wanted to stretch out in two seats. I always have a harder time adjusting to the time on the way back instead of the way there."

Joan sighed and shook her head. "Bert said that he told you where Annie was staying. Jai also said you knew. This isn't hard to put together, Auggie!"

Auggie shrugged. "Well, I've always wanted to visit the rainforest, and Rio Branco had a rubber museum. I thought it would be a cool place to visit. Besides, I got free flyer miles from my credit card company."

Joan rolled her eyes. She didn't believe Auggie for a second, but what could she nail him on? If her suspicions were right, Auggie had not only been around to pick up Annie, but was instrumental in rescuing her as well. Servants for a drug lord and arms dealer didn't just randomly revolt without having someone to pin the blame on- it was a necessary instinct for survival.

"Just go," Joan said finally, and Auggie beamed happily and headed for the door. "Oh, and off the record," Joan added as Auggie flipped on his laser cane, "I... think I would have done the same thing, in your shoes."

Auggie smiled genuinely this time and looked over in Joan's direction. "Joan, do you mind if I take another couple of weeks off. I want to keep Annie company just because... well... you know."

Joan suppressed another sigh. "Go," she said resigned. "You still have at least three weeks, if not more."

Auggie laughed. "I don't think you could keep me away that long," he said.

Joan waited until Auggie was all the way out of the room and heading down the hall before she picked up her phone. "Selena?" she asked after a few moments. Having received a positive confirmation, Joan came right to the point. "Selena, I want you to call down to Bigby and tell him that when he and his boys raid Valmor's house, they are to put all of Valmor's servants in protective custody. Better yet, relocate them to new cities. They saved the lives of some of my people out there, and I'll be hanged if I don't return the favor."

_The End_


End file.
